Genesis: Shadow's Origins
by Nex the Slayer
Summary: If Sonic and crew are from Mobius, how did Black Doom know about the Chaos Emeralds when he's from the Black Comet orbiting Earth? How did Prof. Gerald create synthetic Chaos, an enemy in SA2B, on the A.R.K. fifty years before Chaos Zero took the stage? How did Eggman, who's family is from Earth, end up on Mobius? One backstory to rule them all. Ch 26 is UP!
1. The Birth of Shadow

_Shadow…_

His first thought, his first word. In the darkness of his cloudy mind, this one word rose to the surface above the rest.

_It's dark… like a giant shadow…_

In the solitude of his mind, he could not see, smell, hear, or feel. The only thing he knew was nothingness.

_Where am I? What am I? _Who _am I?_

The questions immediately arose, his mind now fully awake. Silence answered him.

_Why is it so dark? Why can't I sense anything? What is this place?_

Moments later, realization struck.

_This is… me. This is my mind… these are my thoughts… I _am_ the shadow._

As he pondered, a new sensation suddenly arose. He could feel extensions of himself, feel things around him. There was pressure beneath his head, and his back. He was lying down, with his spikes bunched against the cushion under him.

_Spikes?_

Next, his sense of smell kicked in. On reflex, he breathed in a huge breath of air, filling his lungs to their max. Wherever he was, it smelled damp, yet sterile. Wet, but clean.

Instincts began to take over quickly, allowing him to use his senses in tandem.

He became aware of small, muffled noises close by. The sound of his breath could be clearly heard, meaning he was in a small space.

_Hisssssssss…_

The sound of gas escaping filled his ears, and he sensed the area around him become significantly larger. He could hear several voices all muttering and chattering, like little insects.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" One voice clearly called above the rest. It sounded aged, and came from his left side.

_Yes._

"Can you hear me? Say yes if you can."

_Yes._

"Remember to use your mouth to talk."

_My… mouth?_

He slowly formed the words with his mouth.

"Yes… I can hear you."

The chattering and mumbling suddenly intensified, with audible gasps and a few exclamations of surprise.

"Can you open your eyes, son?"

As if drawing a curtain, his eyelids rose. For a few moments, he was blinded by the bright light. Eventually his eyes came to be adjusted to it. Moving his eyes left and right, he could see variously sized figures in white coats facing him, staring in awe and wonder.

_Humans. Homo Sapiens. Scientists. How do I know these things…?_

He looked down at himself, and took in the sight. His fur was pitch black as far up as he could see, with the exception of red stripes that ran along his arms and legs, and a small patch of white fur covered his chest.

_I'm… dark… because I'm a shadow. Because I… wait. Scientists…? Were they experimenting on me? Did I lose my memory? Why are they doing this to me?!_

Overcome by the instinct to run, he used his hands to launch himself out of the capsule he had been laying in. The scientists yelped in surprise and spread out from the pod, giving him space to land.

He then felt a new sensation. Pain.

_Thump._

He collapsed in pain as soon as he hit the ground, writhing uncontrollably.

"What happened?!" a scientist cried.

"He tried to move too quickly!" the aged voice answered. "He probably tore every muscle from his shoulders to his toes!"

"Hold him down!" another called out. "The more he moves, the more damage he'll cause!"

"Someone grab a sedative!"

"No…" he protested. "Get your hands off of me! Leave me alone!" Despite the pain, he continued to struggle. He kept struggling, as one scientist holding a syringe moved closer and closer. "No… NO! Get away!"

"It'll all be over in a second." The scientist replied, and firmly brought the needle to his flailing arm.

"_What are you doing to him!!! Stop it right now!!!_" a voice screamed over all the others.

Everything stopped. The scientists backed away from him, leaving him lying face up on the cold floor.

_Who…?_

A young girl with blonde hair, dressed in blue, stepped forward through the crowd of scientists, who made room for her to get by. She looked at the creature on the floor, her eyes full of sadness and anger. Her attention immediately turned to the men and women.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves! Is this how you handle a situation?! He's terrified!"

The girl walked over and knelt next to him, moving his head into her lap. She placed her cool hands on the side of his face, and looked down into his eyes with a smile.

"It's okay… you're safe. No one's going to hurt you. I promise."

Her smile, her demeanor, and her calmness instantly put him at ease. For some reason, he believed what she said. He felt himself relaxing, and felt his muscles unclench. The pain started to fade, and exhaustion set in. Within moments, his mind sank back into the darkness where it had started…


	2. Infirmary

When he awoke again, he could not move. He looked down at his body, which was covered in bandages and restraints. His entire body still burned with pain, although at a much lower intensity than before. Careful not to move too much, he took in his surroundings.

He was alone in a cold, grey room that had several other beds similar to the one he was now strapped to. On his right, he could see several machines that were monitoring his vital signs and brain activity.

Slowly, he turned his head and looked to the left…

… and into a practically shining set of blue eyes. He nearly jumped off of the bed, but then remembered that he couldn't have anyway.

"Hi!" the blonde young girl said cheerfully. "How are you? Are you okay now?"

He could hardly believe his ears. "Do I _look_ okay to you?" he responded curtly.

"Well, you're alive. In my book, that means you're okay!"

After a few moments, he grunted and leaned his head back, deciding not to object.

"My name's Maria! Maria Robotnik, that is. What's your name?"

"I… don't have a name. I'm just a shadow…"

"A shadow?" Maria tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"Isn't that the reason my skin is so dark? The reason I look so different from everyone else?"

Maria blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she burst into a fit of laughter! He could only furrow his eyebrows at her sudden outburst. He couldn't help but notice that her laugh was loud, but not annoying, and that it seemed to give her face a glow he hadn't noticed before.

"What's so funny?" he snapped, not understanding why she found his statement laughable.

"Shadows are dark, but just because you _are_ dark doesn't make you one! That would be like saying that I'm a violet because my dress is blue!"

"Then why do I look so different? And just who am I? Why can I remember speech and movement, but not any of my memories?"

"That's a lot of questions." Maria paused to gather her thoughts. "I guess I should start by telling you where we are. We're in outer space, in orbit around Earth, the third planet from this solar system's sun."

He absorbed the information greedily, soaking his brain with it. "… All right. Continue."

"We're on a spherical space station called the Space Colony ARK, moving in tandem with Earth's only natural satellite, the moon. The ARK is a center for all kinds of scientific research, and most breakthroughs in technology happen here, on this station."

"What kind of research is done here?" he interjected before Maria could continue.

"Like I said, all sorts of stuff! Nuclear fusion, cell regeneration, particle physics, antimatt -"

"What research was done on me?" he interrupted.

Maria fell silent. She frowned, and gave him a puzzled look. "Honestly, I don't know. I thought I knew about all of my Grandfather's research, but he never mentioned you before…"

The black creature raised an eyebrow. "Your Grandfather?"

Maria nodded. "Yes. Professor Gerald Robotnik. He was in the room where I first saw you. My Grandfather leads most of the projects at this facility, even the top secret ones. I still manage to find out about most of them though. If you have any questions about your past, you should ask him."

He leaned his head back again, trying to process all of the information he'd just received. Maria hadn't said much, but his mind already felt like it was exploding. "ARK…"

"Shadow."

He glanced over at Maria. "What about it?"

"That's what I'm going to call you from now on!" Maria had another large smile on her face. "It's odd speaking to someone without a name, so I'll call you Shadow until I find out from Grandfather what your real name is, okay?"

"You're going to call me Shadow…?" Shadow studied her expression. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"You have no idea," she replied happily.


	3. The Grand Tour

By the following day, Shadow had recovered from his recent injuries. Besides a slightly irritating headache, he felt completely refreshed. Maria was astonished that his torn muscles, which should've taken weeks to heal, repaired themselves in less than a day. To Shadow, it was merely another question he would have to remember to ask the Professor.

Since he had recovered a bit, Maria decided to give Shadow a tour of the ARK. The doctor in charge of the infirmary was very reluctant to release Shadow, saying that he should wait until the Professor came to see him.

"I'll take him to my Grandfather during the tour! I promise!" Maria protested.

With the doctor's weak approval, Maria gave Shadow a full tour of every non-restricted area of the station. Shadow paid close attention, trying to memorize everything he saw and heard. It was surprisingly simple for him, and he wondered if it was another product of the Professor's experiment.

"Maria, when are we going to see the Professor?" Shadow and Maria had just finished touring the time travel research lab, where Shadow had spent at least half an hour asking about the basics and principles behind it.

"When we're done with the tour… why?" she replied.

"Can we see him now?"

Maria stopped walking, and looked down at the ground. "Shadow, I understand that you want to find out more about yourself, but you don't have to rush things…"

Shadow paused, absorbing what she said, and was struck with realization. "You know, don't you? You know something about me!"

"I know that your name is Shadow."

"Don't play games!" Shadow's red eyes flared in anger. "Tell me who I am!"

"Shadow…" Maria stared at the ground, her voice cracking slightly. "Looking into a person's past can be dangerous. You may find out things you never wanted to know…"

"My past is what makes me who I am!" Shadow shouted.

"You're wrong!" Maria shouted back, looking straight at Shadow. "You're wrong… your past just tells you who you were, not who you are. _You_ are the only one who can decide who you are." Maria made a sniffling noise, and Shadow could see tears running from her sad eyes.

_She's… crying? _He thought to himself. _Is she sad? For me?_ For the first time, Shadow felt guilty, as if he had committed some kind of sin. He didn't like seeing Maria cry.

Shadow took hold of Maria's hand. "Let's go."

Maria sniffled again. "Go where?"

"Somewhere I can see the outside of the ship. You haven't shown me Earth yet."

"But I thought…" her voice trailed off.

"You said we'd see the Professor at the end of the tour, right?" Shadow looked up at Maria. "I guess I'll just have to wait until then to see him, won't I?"

Maria's smile came back, just as big and bright as it was before. She quickly wiped the tears from around her eyes, and led Shadow down a hallway.

"I know the perfect place!"

* * *

"Where are we?" Shadow asked. They were in a large circular room, about a hundred feet wide. It was dark, and the only light came from the green glow of the electronic equipment.

"Go to the center of the room, and you'll find out." Maria replied mischievously.

Shadow approached the center of the room, his bare feet chilled on the metal floor. The center of the room was lit as a green circle. Shadow stepped inside it, and Maria pressed a button on the wall.

The floor underneath Shadow rumbled a bit, and he looked down. Beneath him, the floor was opening up. The entire floor was a huge window to the outside of the ship! As the shutters reached the sides of the room, Shadow opened his mouth in awe.

The Earth. There it was, just beyond the glass. The immense planet filled the entirety of the room's viewing space. It was blue, with wisps of white covering it.

"It's… amazing," Shadow breathed.

"It's beautiful," Maria corrected. "That's why it's my favorite color."

"Do you live down there?" Shadow inquired.

"No… I was born here, on the station," Maria's voice dropped. "My parents died in a lab accident when I was little, and Grandfather's been taking care of me ever since. He rarely has a chance to get away from his work, so I stayed here, on the ARK."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Living here on the colony is fun, and I get to see so much stuff that other people only dream about!"

Shadow glanced around the room and noticed a small machine in the corner.

"What is this?" he asked.

"There's a technical name for it, but I can't remember what. If there's an emergency where hazardous materials need to be disposed of immediately, scientists bring them here."

"Disposed of?"

"Yes. Here, I'll show you!" Maria walked over to the machine and pressed a few buttons. A capsule descended from the ceiling and enclosed the center of the room where Shadow had been standing.

"If I press this button, the capsule will eject into space above the Earth. Just before reaching the atmosphere, the capsule explodes, mostly destroying whatever is inside. Whatever's left disintegrates in the atmosphere!"

"That's… rather convenient. Can the capsule itself survive re-entry?"

"Hmmm… I don't know. Why?"

"That capsules big enough to hold a person. I was thinking that someone could use it to get to Earth from here."

"The self-detonation would have to be disabled… these capsules aren't made to survive re-entry, or even exist on Earth. The pressure could cause it to implode, not to mention that you could land someplace… hard." Maria frowned. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

Shadow was silent for a moment. "No. At least, not yet."

"That… makes me happy." Maria grew quiet again.

He turned to face her. "Why?"

"You're the first person I've been able to talk to for a long time. My Grandfather and the other scientists are always working on one of their projects, and the only other child that was here with me left to live on Earth almost six months ago…"

_She's lonely…_

"I like having someone to talk to… giving you a tour of the ARK is the most fun I've had in ages…" Maria looked down at the ground again, feet fidgeting.

"Well then why are we still here?"

"Huh…?" Maria looked up.

"You're not done with the tour yet, so why are we wasting time here?" Shadow walked towards the door. Maria grinned, then smiled her brilliant smile yet again.

His back to Maria, Shadow couldn't help but smile, too…


	4. The Professor

After a long day of walking, talking and touring, Maria and Shadow had finally visited every nook and cranny of the space colony ARK. They were headed for the last stop on the tour: Professor Gerald Robotnik's Lab, located in the center of the space colony.

"My Grandfather's lab is never in the same place when I go to visit him." Maria explained. "Whenever he starts on a new project, he moves all his belongings on site so that he can work as conveniently as possible."

"He must really like his work."

"Well… yes…" Maria grew thoughtful. "But… Grandfather has been spending a lot more time on his projects than he usually does… it's almost as if…"

"What?" Shadow asked.

"N-nothing…" she replied. "He's always been a little… eccentric."

As they reached the end of the corridor, they came upon a large, reinforced door. Several security cameras observed them, and Shadow could just make out power lines running from the walls into the door.

"I guess knocking is out of the question." Shadow muttered.

"Yep! Knock on those doors, and you'll get about 150,000 Volts for your trouble!" Maria said cheerfully.

"Your optimism is frightening. How are we going to get in?"

"Like this!" Maria stepped up to the door and started typing in numbers on the door controls. "It's always… 7, 1, 1… 3, 6, 6, 6… 4, 2!"

Without warning, blaring sirens and red lights began to go off, and ten reinforced doors slammed shut behind them!

"_Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Intruder detected at the E.C. Lab!"_ a robotic voice called over the intercoms. The ceiling above the pair opened, and three robots dropped to the ground, blocking their only way out. Each floating machine was equipped with a machine gun and missile launcher.

"Er… Maria…?" Shadow took a step back, and took up a defensive stance. _Wait… how do I know how to do that?_

Maria sighed. "Just a second!"

As suddenly as the commotion had started, it stopped. The robot drones retreated into the ceiling, and all the doors behind Shadow and Maria opened at once, including the door to the Professor's Lab.

Maria giggled. "Sorry! My fault! It was 117, not 711!"

Taken aback by her calmness and laughter, Shadow could only stare at Maria with a growing feeling of both hatred and wonder._ What… the hell…was that?_

Shadow rubbed the center of his forehead. His headache from that morning was getting worse. He pushed it to the corner of his mind, attributing it to stress and trauma. And _her_.

"Hello?" Maria called as they walked into the laboratory. "Grandfather! Are you here?"

Shadow and Maria walked further and further into the room, which was completely dome shaped. And humongous. The dome itself was at least 1,500 feet in diameter, with a smaller dome in the center that was about 500 feet in diameter. It was a sphere inside of a sphere, inside of a spherical space station.

_Someone around here has a thing for circles._

The pair approached the dome in the center of the room, which seemed to have only one entrance. Between the exit behind them and the entrance in front of them, there were blueprints, machinery, clothes, and half-eaten sandwiches everywhere.

Shadow examined one of the schematics laid out on the table nearby. After scanning the sheet momentarily, his eyes rested on a title in the lower corner. "The Eclipse Cannon…"

"Ah! There you are!" a familiar voice called out. "I got a message from the infirmary that I would get a visit from you two today, but I didn't know when!"

Shadow turned to see an old man in a white lab coat walking towards them. He had apparently just come out of the inner dome, which had promptly locked behind him. He was the same height as Maria, with large circular glasses and a rather prominent graying mustache that extended past his cheeks, even covering his mouth.

"Professor Gerald, I presume." Shadow said lightly.

"Correct. I assume you have some questions… Maria? Could you leave the two of us alone for awhile?"

Maria's countenance fell, clearly dismayed. Still, she nodded once and left the dome the same way she entered. Shadow could hear the locks re-locking on the heavy door once she was gone.

"So… what questions did you have?"

Shadow ran through the hundreds of questions in his head. He didn't even know where to begin! Shadow decided to start with a fairly straightforward one.

"What am I? What species, I mean. I'm obviously not human, but I'm not a mindless animal, either."

"You're a hedgehog." The professor answered.

A few moments of silence passed, while Shadow continued to stare at the professor.

"I'm… a what?" Shadow asked in disbelief.

"You are a Hedgehog, created by myself," the professor repeated. "I figured you wouldn't want me to skip around the question, so I put it rather bluntly. In reality though, you are _so_ much more than that." Professor Gerald motioned to a large computer screen off to the side of the room. On the screen was a diagram of the inner workings of… himself! An image of Shadow the Hedgehog filled the screen. The screen had several layers, each showing a different part of his physique: skeleton, circulatory system, respiratory system, muscle orientation, the works!

Shadow looked at each one, amazed at the details that went into the blueprints, and in turn, himself. He found an inner system he didn't recognize, and selected it on the main screen. The flow path was completely different from his other systems, and filled a good ninety-five percent of the diagram.

"Professor. What is this?"

"You have good eyes," the professor commented as he approached from behind. "This shows the flow of Chaos energy throughout your body."

"Chaos energy? I've never heard of it… and none of the other scientists on the ARK are working on anything even close to this."

"I wouldn't doubt it," he responded, taking a seat in a nearby chair. "Very few people know of its existence, and even fewer have the capability of understanding it. Even I don't fully understand it! As for you not knowing about it, I never placed it in your memory database to begin with. I knew that we would eventually be having this conversation, and I didn't want to give you any clues."

"So then," Shadow continued, "what exactly _is_ Chaos energy?"

The professor gave a long sigh. "Chaos… is a living energy, of sorts. It exists in everything, although in much less quantities than you have. I have some, Maria has some, even inanimate objects, like this ship, can channel and contain Chaos, if built correctly. In concentrated amounts, Chaos can display seemingly impossible feats, such as rapidly heal wounds, increase physical ability, and even be released as pure energy to power machines. I've been experimenting with it for only a short while, though, so I don't know _exactly_ how it works, but it seems that physical anatomy, as well as molecular makeup and mental pathways, factor into one's ability to generate and store Chaos."

"And you created me to be able to store this energy?" Shadow inquired.

"Not only store, but _harness_. Nearly every fiber of your being is capable of channeling Chaos energy. You are the single most pure form of life in existence, an Ultimate Life Form." The professor rolled his chair closer to the computer and changed the display. "Look here… this is a diagram of the flow of Chaos energy in a typical human being." The screen was sparsely highlighted, mostly in the brain area. "This is three, maybe four percent? Not very significant at all."

"So you started looking into other forms of life…" Shadow realized. "Animals and plants?"

"Exactly! Here's a picture of a normal hedgehog's flow path…" A significantly smaller picture appeared, except this one was lit like a Christmas tree. "This is about sixty-five to seventy percent flow. It's the highest of any life form I've studied, and it's the animal your anatomy was based on."

Shadow stared at the screen, fully comprehending, but hopelessly mind blown. His chronic headache chose that exact moment to flare up again, and he quickly sat in a nearby chair to keep from reeling. It all made sense, but…

"Why?" Shadow asked. "Why create an ultimate form of life to begin with? Why create me? You didn't just create me for scientific purposes. What was your real reason?"

"What makes you think I have ulterior motives?" the professor calmly asked, not seemingly offended at all by the accusation.

"You wouldn't have given me free will, otherwise. According to you, I'm not only an incredible leap in science; I'm a devastating weapon. The fact that I can think for myself makes me a threat not only to you, but everyone on this ship, including your Granddaughter. Instead of trying to contain me, you hold casual conversations and let me traipse the entire ship, learning everything about it as if it wasn't dangerous at all! What's your true aim, Professor?"

Shadow finally finished speaking, and the professor stared at him intensely, as if contemplating his answer. After a minute of silence, the professor rose from his seat and walked over to his desk a few feet away.

"Tell me, Shadow, what do you think my purpose in life is?"

"To study, research, and present your findings for the benefit of society," Shadow answered automatically, as if rehearsed. It sounded right to Shadow. He _was_ a Professor, after all.

"To a certain degree, I would completely agree with you. That is my _occupation_, and also how I fulfill my purpose." The professor spoke softly. "But... my driving force, what makes me wake up each morning to create a better tomorrow, is the little girl who brought you to me today. She is my reason for existing; to provide a loving, caring, somewhat safe environment for her to grow and mature.

"I didn't know that she would become my purpose for living; it just sort of happened that way. But it was a purpose I chose, and it is one that I stand by. You asked why I gave you a conscience, a free will, correct?"

Shadow nodded.

"What is free will used to do? I gave you a free will so you could make your own decisions. Your purpose for living, your purpose for existing, is something I have given you the freedom to choose for yourself. That, my son, is worth far more than an entire Space Station made of gold.

"I'm afraid," the professor continued, "that that will have to be the end of our discussion today. I have much work to attend to, and I'm afraid I have a deadline to meet. Please, excuse me." He packed up the schematics sitting on his desk into a suitcase and dragged it behind him to the room's inner circle. Shadow, still sitting, decided he wouldn't pester the Professor with questions anymore, and watched as he disappeared into a near invisible opening on the dome's side.

Still not satisfied, Shadow left the lab and wandered around the ship. He quickly found that the walking helped him to not think about the revelations of his meeting with the professor. After nearly half an hour of walking, Shadow noticed that no one was around. The hallways were devoid of all scientists, equipment, and even the cleaning robots.

Shadow rounded a corner just in time to see a metal door to the hallway slam shut. Shadow approached the door and leaned close, listening for signs of life on the other side. After a few seconds, he could just barely make out a conversation between a scientist and someone on a radio mike.

"…still there?" the scientist sounded scared.

A garbled response came from the hand-held radio. "Yeah… he's just… I dunno, standing there in front of your door… I don't know what he's doing…"

_They're avoiding me!_ Shadow realized. Looking up, he saw the camera that the man on the radio must have been watching. He felt a sudden sense of anger for being ignored, and before he knew it, a yellowish blast of heat shot out from his hand towards the camera. The camera instantly exploded, sending glass and metal fragments up and down the corridor. Shadow looked in amazement at his own hands, flexing them.

_This must be the Chaos energy the professor was talking about… what power!_ Shadow smiled, pleased with his work. It had felt good, destroying something. He could nearly feel the stress leaving him when he did it, too. Shadow continued down the passage, his mood slightly lighter than before.


	5. Cousins

Author's Note:

I'm a pretty lazy guy. Recently, I've begun paying more attention to my unfinished FanFiction stories as a stress relief from school. If you people out there like my stories, for the love of God, review my stories and PM the hell out of me. _Make _me write! Otherwise, you'll be waiting _another_ few months for a new chapter.

Basically, reviews = chapters.

Shadow continued to aimlessly drift through the station, eventually finding himself back at the capsule ejection room. He stood in the center, looking down at the brilliant blue planet so far down below. It was hard to _not_ look at the Earth. It was like a magnet for his eyes. With the lights down and the Earth so far beneath him, it almost felt as if he was flying over it.

Out of the corner of his vision, Shadow noticed a small pinprick of light coming from between the surface and the ARK. He peered closer, and realized that it was actually a Space Shuttle traveling though the atmosphere towards the station.

_So that's where humans come from… they switch between being on the surface and in orbit._

Shadow tried to think of what the surface must be like. Dirt, plants, humans… the more he thought about it, the less attractive the prospect became. Even so, Shadow couldn't help but feel the need to escape his somewhat restrictive environment. Instinct perhaps? A warning from his sub-conscience that he wasn't aware of? Perhaps. The line of thought made Shadow's head start hurting again. The migraines had started becoming progressively worse, and Shadow was beginning to think he should mention it to someone. Not wanting to face his creator at the moment, he chose to ignore it.

The sound of a door opening made Shadow look up. Maria stood in the doorway, glancing around in the room.

"Shadow… are you in here?" Maria spoke out.

_She must not see me with the lights off… I really _am_ a Shadow, huh?_ The thought continued to amuse him, and Shadow realized he was becoming used to his given name. What's more, he wasn't concerned about it in the least bit.

"I'm here," Shadow answered a few moments later, causing Maria, who had walked halfway into the room, to jump nearly a foot.

"Good grief! You nearly scared me to death, Shadow! Answer quicker next time!" Maria seemed irritated, but still her usual optimistic self. "I had a feeling I'd find you here. I always end up back in this room, whether I want to or not. It's peaceful, somehow. It always helps me think about whatever's bothering me."

"It's the same for me," Shadow replied. "Part of me is curious about the surface, but… I think I'd rather observe from a distance. From here."

"I feel the exact opposite," Maria whispered as she stood next to Shadow. "Being on this station is wonderful, but there are so many things I want to experience that I've never had the chance to. I often imagine what it's like… to feel the wind blow around me, to feel _real_ grass beneath my feet, to smell _fresh_ flowers… it's a fleeting obsession of mine that I've never been able to fulfill. One day, I'll be able to leave here, and do all those things, but it's almost maddening to have to wait for it."

The ship approaching the station caught Shadow's attention again. "There's a ship coming to the station."

"Really?" Maria seemed surprised. "Where?"

Shadow pointed it out among the stars on the left side of the planet. It was no longer passing through the atmosphere, but could still be seen against the blackness of space.

"Odd… I didn't think anymore ships would be coming for the rest of the month…" Maria stepped back and kneeled to get a better look at the fast approaching shuttle, which had moved out of Shadow's line of sight. "Oh my goodness… Shadow, what happened to your feet?"

Shadow turned to face Maria, confused. Her gaze was firmly fixed on his feet. Shadow looked down at his feet, then back up at Maria.

"What about them?"

"Don't play dumb! You have four… no, _five_ pieces of metal sticking out of your feet!" Maria leaned in close, inspecting his bare feet. Sure enough, several shards of broken metal were firmly embedded in Shadow's feet.

Shadow looked over them for a moment. "…I heal fast."

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Maria exclaimed. "I'm taking you to the infirmary this instant!" She grabbed his hand and started to lead him out of the Capsule Ejection room.

"Oh… ow… that hurts," Shadow feigned in a hardly believable voice. "I don't think I can walk anywhere right now."

Maria squinted her eyes at him. "You may not _want_ to go to the infirmary, but we can't leave those stuck in your feet. You're getting medical attention whether you want it or not."

Shadow stared straight into her eyes, facing off. Then, he slowly bent down, still staring at Maria, and began pulling the bits of metal from his feet. Green blood decorated their ends, and Shadow discarded them to the side, letting them clatter on the ground. One after another, he cleanly slipped from underneath his skin, until only one remained. The last shard was tricky. It was buried at least an inch, and Shadow knew he wouldn't be able to pull it as stoically as he did the others.

Maria looked on with a mix of amazement and horror. Right in front of her eyes, she could see Shadow's wounds coagulate, bind, and completely heal in a matter of seconds.

With a slight grunt of pain, Shadow wrenched the final piece of scrap metal out of his foot, and held it out for Maria to see, still covered in blood.

"What are you giving it to me for?" she said, exasperated.

Shadow looked at the shrapnel, then back to Maria. "Souvenir."

There was silence for a few moments as Maria and Shadow continued to stare at each other, and it was broken by a sudden burst of laughter from Maria. Shadow smiled, chuckling to himself on the inside. "I didn't think you _had_ a sense of humor!" Maria managed between her laughs.

"It's starting to grow on me." Shadow tossed back. As they left the room, he realized that Maria was starting to grow on him too…

The shuttle docked with the space colony, engaging its clamps and starting the air lock procedure. The scientists onboard quickly made their way along the crosswalk connecting the docking station to the A.R.K.'s main body.

The last person to get off of the shuttle was considerably smaller than the other passengers. His noticeably round figure and red shirt stood out like a sore thumb. Technical manuals in one hand and toolset in the other, the young boy quickly made to join the other scientists, who had already checked in with the security onboard the colony.

"Name?" The security guard asked flatly as he approached the office.

"Robotnik." He responded as he adjusted his glasses. "Ivo Robotnik."


	6. Stress Management

"Are you all right, Shadow?" Maria asked. She and Shadow were in the cafeteria of the A.R.K., where they sat at a table alone. Other scientists and military personnel were present, but had opted to leave at least one empty table between themselves and the pair. They sat on opposite sides of the table; Maria was happily munching on a dry salad while Shadow, who'd said he wasn't hungry, cupped his hands around a mug of hot tea.

"I don't mind stares, if that's what you mean," he replied. All around them, Shadow could feel the penetrating stares of the people in the mess hall. It had been this way since he woke up a few days ago, and had since learned to ignore them. Maria had sensed that Shadow was uncomfortable, but it was for a completely different reason. The headaches were getting worse.

"I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong, Shadow," Maria muttered, her voice showing genuine concern.

He looked away. Shadow didn't want to tell anyone about his headaches. It would just give everyone a reason to think he was broken.

"I guess I'm just a little stressed, that's all."

Maria tilted her head slightly to one side and furrowed her eyes in thought, then smiled as an idea popped into her head.

_Crap._ Shadow thought to himself. "Whatever you just thought of, I'll have no part in."

Maria's face changed to one of feigned shock. "I can't believe you just said that! You don't even know what it was that I thought of!"

"Wrong. I forgot to tell you: the Professor made me clairvoyant," Shadow stated calmly as he sipped his tea.

"Oh really?" Maria asked. She leaned closer to Shadow, hands supporting her chin. "Then, what am I thinking about right now?"

"You're thinking 'There's no possible way for him to know what I'm thinking'," Shadow took another sip from his tea, his eyes fixated on hers.

Maria squinted and scrunched up her face. Shadow put his tea down and leaned back, folding his arms.

"Lucky guess."

"If you say so," Shadow responded.

* * *

"Why are we here, again?" Shadow asked.

"Well, you said you were feeling stressed, so we're going to get you some fun and exercise so you don't have to think about it! Great idea, right?"

"Not if it involves a pool." He retorted. Shadow and Maria were standing on the edge of an Olympic sized swimming pool, made for the exercise and relaxation of the A.R.K.'s residents. Maria had on a generic swimsuit provided to all civilians, Shadow had… nothing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maria asked.

"It means this will end badly. My body's density is higher than the water. I won't float."

"Have you tried?"

"No."

"Then you can't complain. Just do what I do, okay?" Maria took two steps, then jumped into the water, wrapping her arms around her legs and curling like a ball before hitting the water. The water splashed up and back onto Shadow, who was still very hesitant about doing anything near the water. After a second or so, Maria surfaced and faced Shadow.

"Can you see my hands and feet, Shadow?"

Shadow looked closely, watching Maria's legs kick back and forth and her arms wave up and down to keep her head above the water. It looked so easy… it was sure to mean instant death.

"Come on! Just jump in!" Maria waved for him to jump.

Shadow sighed. He could've sworn he'd already disagreed to this. But… once again, Maria had somehow convinced him to come this far. Shadow made a mental effort to push aside his instinct for self preservation. He took several steps back, then made a run for the pool, jumping and curling like Maria did.

Several things happened at once. Firstly, Shadow's odd weight proportions caused his body to spin five times in a forward direction immediately after jumping. Maria, while watching in amazement at Shadow's trajectory into the pool, developed a cramp in her side from her lunch from less than a half hour ago. As Shadow's body hit the pool, the same thought ran through both of their heads: _Crap._

Just as Shadow predicted, his body sank to the bottom straight away like a rock. Luckily, he'd had the good sense to take a large gulp of air before jumping in. Shadow's feet landed flat on the bottom of the pool, and he opened his eyes to get his bearings. The chlorine water stung his eyes, and he shut them on reflex. After bracing himself, he opened them again.

Floating in front of Shadow was Maria, frantically attempting to swing three limbs and stay afloat, an attempt which failed miserably. As she sank, Shadow wondered if she was trying to tell him how he was supposed to float. Then, he saw her panicked blue eyes looking around, searching for him.

_What is she…?_ At that moment, Maria, who had held her not-full breath as long as possible, let out the air in her lungs and breathed in on reflex. Her lungs instantly filled with water, and within seconds she passed out, eyes wide. Shadow watched as the air bubbled from her mouth and floated up to the surface. _Maria?_

Shadow tried to run over to her, only to find his movement severely restricted by the water. He realized his air was beginning to run out as well, and that even if he reached Maria, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He stopped moving and tried to think clearly, despite his lack of oxygen.

_What do I do?_

* * *

Chuck and Walter, two security guards aboard the A.R.K., sat in the Section 22 Video and Emergency Security Station. Chuck was closely watching the video surveillance for anything out of the ordinary while Walter… snored in the seat next to him.

Chuck didn't mind though. Walter had recently been up all night going through the paperwork necessary to bring his family onto the Space Colony, a daunting task if there ever was one. Chuck had decided to let the man get a few hours of shuteye.

A red light on the control panel in front of him lit up red, and multiple alarms began to ring. Chuck went into auto-mode, alerting the Main Security Center of the alarm. Walter promptly jerked awake, confused and slightly disoriented. "What's going on?" he asked in a half-asleep slurred voice.

"There's a fire somewhere… it set off the emergency water sprinklers," Chuck was already in motion, grabbing a fire extinguisher and smoke mask.

"Where's the fire at?" Walter asked, fumbling to grab his gear as well as Chuck opened the door to leave.

"The pool!" Chuck called out behind him.

"All right." Walter acknowledged as he suited up. "…wait. The _pool_?"

* * *

Maria slowly opened her eyes. She took a breath, only to feel an intense burning sensation. Resisting the urge to hack up a lung, she looked around. Maria was on a bed in the infirmary, surrounded by curtains and hooked up to a heart monitor. On her right side, sitting in a chair pulled up to the bed, Shadow's head rested on the mattress, face down. His fists were clenched.

"Shadow…?" Maria spoke weakly. Her throat still burned. "Shadow… it's okay, I'm…"

A low rumble interrupted her. Shadow was still face down, breathing evenly. Maria chuckled, realizing that he was asleep. And snoring.

"Shadow," Maria called out to him. "_Shadow_." He twitched and opened his eyes slightly. Upon seeing Maria, his eyes popped wide open and he sat up.

"Are you okay?" Shadow asked.

"I'm… fine. My throat's a little sore… but I'll manage." Maria was surprised at the gravelly sound of her own voice.

"The doctor said that the water flushed out the surfactant in your lungs, and that you'd feel weak for awhile."

"Yeah… but… how did we…? I mean, you weren't able to swim… and I know _I_ didn't do anything. How did we get out of the pool?"

"Some of the Security Team found us. They must have seen us fall into the pool from a surveillance camera," Shadow lied. "When they pulled us out, one of them revived you, and we brought you here. You've been asleep for nearly a day."

"A _day_? Wow…" Maria brushed back one of the curtains with her hand and gasped. The entire room was filled with at least two hundred flowers, in all kinds of shapes and sizes. "Where did…?"

"I don't know. The violets on the shelf over there are from the Professor, but everyone else just left their flowers at the door, and some knocked to let me know they were there."

Maria looked at Shadow, eyes wide. "Shadow… you haven't been here the _whole_ time, have you?"

Shadow looked down at his hands, folding and rubbing them together. "I… didn't know if you were going to be all right. Even after you started breathing again, the doctors were throwing words around like 'possible brain damage'. I… wanted to be sure that... you wouldn't…"

Maria smiled and stretched out her hand towards Shadow's face and flicked his nose with her index finger. "I'm not going anywhere, dummy," she said before she leaned back. "Besides… I haven't gotten a chance to see Earth yet."

Shadow looked relieved, and nodded.

"By the way," she added. "I am _starving_! Do have anything?"

"Me? No."

"…Shadow… did you… eat _anything_?"

Shadow didn't answer, and averted his eyes. Another loud rumbling filled the room, only this time it was lower. Maria snickered.

"I'll go get you some food," Shadow said as he hurriedly left the room.

* * *

The next day, Maria was wandering the halls of the Space Colony, thoroughly bored. Shadow had somehow ducked away, further avoiding more "stress management". Okay, so she almost drowned during their first attempt. So what?

A security guard exited a door in the hallway directly in front of her, and Maria recognized him. It was Walter, and if she remembered correctly, he was filing for his family to join him on the station.

"Walter!" she called out. The guard whipped around, apparently not expecting anyone to be there.

"Oh! Maria! How are you doing?" he shuffled some papers he was carrying in his hands.

"Perfectly well, thanks to you and Chuck. I heard that you two were the ones who pulled me and Shadow out of the pool. Thank you!"

Walter smiled. "No problem. By the way, where is Shadow?"

"Hiding from me, it seems. He's been acting kind of strange ever since I woke up. Well, besides trying to avoid me helping him with his 'stress management'. He seems… distant."

"Shadow's not exactly normal, though. Maybe you should let him stew."

Maria's smile vanished. "What do you mean? Shadow's just like you and me; he just looks a little different. When someone's depressed about something, the last thing you should do is leave them alone!"

"He's a little more different than that, Maria," Walter spoke quietly. "Be careful around him; he's dangerous."

"Shadow wouldn't hurt a fly, even if they did exist on this ship!"

"He wouldn't _try_ to. Guns don't intentionally hurt people either, but that doesn't stop them from being dangerous."

Maria paused. "You know something," she stated. " …what _really_ happened two days ago?"

Walter sighed. "We… Chuck and I, went to the pool because a fire alarm went off."

"A _fire_ alarm?"

"Yeah," Walter continued. "When we got there, the entire pool room was as hot as a sauna. And when we saw the pool… I couldn't believe my eyes. The pool was _on fire_, as if it was filled with gasoline instead of water."

"But… water can't…"

"Tell that to my eyes. Maria, Shadow flash boiled the surface of the water to set that alarm off. The water had already evaporated down to his knees; all we did was help him get you out!"

Maria quickly recovered. "But because of that you were able to save me, right?"

"We didn't save you, Maria." Walter nearly whispered.

"Wh- what do you mean?"

"We tried our best. After we got you out of the pool, we gave you CPR and chest compressions… but you didn't come back, and the medical team was still four minutes away. Chuck and I'd given up on you. We didn't save you… Shadow did. He told us not to tell anyone… but I think you needed to know."

Maria looked down, overwhelmed. The papers in Walter's hand caught her attention. The form on the top was printed in bold "Withdrawal of Request". He couldn't be…

"Walter…"

"Just… be careful. I'd hate to see something bad happen to either of you." Walter turned and walked briskly down the hall, leaving Maria by herself to ponder on what had happened.

(The person who can figure out the Chuck and Walter name reference will get the next chapter dedicated to them. They are technicians for the same type of machine on two different TV shows that spawned from one movie.)


	7. The Others

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, guys, thanks for sticking with me. I've finally got another chapter done. The beginning and end are all set; it's just the meat in the middle that needs to get fleshed out. Hang on to your rocking chairs, because the next chapter is where things are going to get real twisted, real fast. As promised, this chapter is dedicated to Scyphi, who correctly identified the Stargate technicians Walter and Chuck. Kudos!

* * *

Shadow placed his hand on the hull of the A.R.K., struggling to hold himself up. The headaches had gotten much, much worse. It had been three days since his incident at the pool, and the scientists were more terrified of Shadow than ever before due to his murderous looks and short fuse. He had managed to keep his condition a secret from Maria, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep his cool. The pain was making him irritable and put him in a foul mood. Maria could tell something was wrong, but hadn't pushed the issue.

He walked slowly up the corridor, weighing the one option he had tried to shun. He had to go see the Professor.

* * *

Maria was worried. Once again in the capsule ejection room, looking down on Earth, she pondered about Shadow's recent erratic behavior. She hadn't seen Shadow all day, and he'd been acting more grumpy than normal lately. She wished he would just talk to her. That's what friends do when something is wrong, right?

_I hope you're all right, Shadow the Hedgehog._

* * *

The reinforced alloy door was in front of him. Shadow reluctantly punched in the code to the Professor's lab that he'd seen Maria input a few days prior. With a bleep and hiss, the door opened itself for him.

The lone hedgehog stepped into the round room. The surroundings had changed quite a bit since his last visit. The lab had become messier than before with blueprints, pages of raw data, food, and discarded scraps and tools strewn everywhere. Shadow ignored the mess and smell, and focused on finding the Professor. He circled the entire compartment, staying along the wall of the dome in the center of the room. All he saw was more of the same: subs, scrap metal, wrinkled paper, door…

_A door?_

Shadow approached a door on the opposite end of the room from where he entered. This door was just as reinforced as the first. As Shadow drew near, a panel unveiled itself from the floor, revealing a keypad. This keypad, unlike the first, was alphabetic instead of numerical.

_Password… what would the Professor… oh._

Shadow typed in "Maria". The door opened with a bleep and hiss, letting out a cool draft of air. The room was dark, and Shadow could tell the Professor wasn't inside. Still…

He took a few steps into the room, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. In front of Shadow was a long corridor, lined on both sides with transparent panels. The reinforced door closed behind him, immersing the hallway in complete darkness. Shadow found himself unable to see, hear, or smell anything significant. The lack of sensory input did not unsettle him; oddly enough, it put him at ease with his surroundings. The void was… familiar.

Shadow cocked his head to one side. He… _felt_ something. It was more than something his five senses could provide, more of a gut feeling than anything else.

He was not alone.

As he stepped forward into the darkness, lights began to activate, humming all around. The passage had an eight by eight foot cross section, and was lined above, below, and to both sides with transparent paneled cages. Inside the cages were all manner of animals and plants. Shadow, not shocked, but rather curious, proceeded down the ever continuing hall.

Mammals… reptiles… amphibians… plant life…

Here and there, Shadow spotted signs of intelligence. An otter was scratching ticks into the paneling, a rabbit hopped in circles to a particular repeating rhythm. A hedgehog, about twice a normal hedgehog's size, noticed Shadow and gave him a smirk. He had the sudden urge to break into the cage and rip it off.

The hallway made a ninety degree turn to the right a little further up, and Shadow found himself looking down another hall lined with cages. As he continued walking, Shadow noticed the floor was at a very slight angle. His theory was confirmed when he reached the end of the hall and found another ninety degree turn. The hallways were set up in a square, lowering ever so slightly so that by the time a person walked the length of four hallways, they were exactly one level below where they started.

_It's spiraling down. This could take forever… there's got to be an elevator somewhere._

At the hall's halfway point, Shadow noticed a vertical row of cages that were unoccupied. He could see beyond the cages that there was a hallway hidden there. He guessed that the other hallways had entrances to this middle passage as well, which would form a cross inside of the square. Looking around, Shadow noticed a miniscule device near the floor. Completely black and almost invisible, the most prominent feature was a clear oval of glass on the top.

_A scanner for fingerprints. I'm positive I'm not allowed in. Whatever's at the bottom will probably explain how I was created. The Professor may be there too… I need his help._

Shadow weighed his options. He didn't want to walk all the way down, but it wasn't as if he could just break down any walls that happened to be in his way… or could he?

_Guess that's it for being subtle…_

Shadow held his right hand towards the empty cages and tried to recall the feeling he'd had when the camera exploded. Anger… resentment… rage. As Shadow thought back to the way he'd been treated, he reflected on the way everyone on the ship had avoided him, shunned him, ignored him, whispered about him, hid from him, and looked at him. The feeling deep in his gut began to bubble. Shadow focused on that feeling, letting it fester and grow. The bubbling soon turned to uncontrollable boiling. He held it in, building it, adding more fuel to the fire. Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to hold it any longer, Shadow released the energy through his right hand.

The result was catastrophic. Instead of a yellowish color like before, a deep red blast blew outward from his fingertips. The cage/door ceased to exist, and nearly every panel for the cages in the hallway adjacent to it cracked and exploded. Hundreds of animals poured out, confused and terrified, scurrying in every direction away from Shadow. The blast made a gigantic booming noise, the only noise he could compare it to was a sonic boom… right in front of his face. The blast itself hadn't stopped at the door, either. It continued to travel down the corridor, though the elevator in the center, and all the way to the opposite hallway of cages where it came to rest, severely burning the entrance to the elevator corridor.

Shadow's first feeling was of shock. How could so much destruction have come from his hand? The floor and ceiling in front of him were melting like chocolate left in the sun. Was chaos power truly this destructive?

His shock was immediately replaced a fraction of a second later by an almost euphoric relief as the pressure on his mind lessened considerably. His headache was still there, but it was much less painful than it had been a few seconds before. The feeling was so intense that Shadow nearly passed out, as if he had stood up too quickly. Within a minute however, Shadow began to feel the strength of his migraine returning. Whatever had made it dissipate was apparently only temporary.

_I have_ _to find the professor._

Making sure to avoid doing himself any undue damage, Shadow stepped through the molten slab of an opening he'd created. The elevator, which should have been in the center of the room, must have been on a higher level. The framework for the elevator was all that remained; it was designed to allow entry from any of the four sides personnel may have entered from, and had used a transparent poly for doors. _Had _was the operative word.

Shadow stuck his head out into the elevator shaft, first looking up, where he could just see the underside of the elevator far above him. Looking down…

_Alright, so now I know the extent of my special ability… let's see where my physical abilities stand._

Shadow took a breath and hopped over the lip into the seemingly endless abyss below him.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've got to eat, so work has been taking priority over my stories. Sorry, I'll try to do better! If I don't make significant progress by November, though, you guys may be out of luck with MW3 coming out. Stay tuned!


	8. The Kindred Mind

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Riding on the coat tails of my last chapter is this newest addition. I never mentioned it before, but the child on the station who left Maria all alone was none other than the commander of the G.U.N. forces in the StH video game, whose name (as far as I know) is not given. As promised, this chapter is where (excuse my french) shit gets real. Enjoy!

* * *

The wind rushed past Shadow's ears as he freefell down the elevator shaft. He, once again, was not shocked, but rather curious about his lack of fear or apprehension as his body approached terminal velocity. Ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five floors and counting. Each had hallways identical to the first set he was in, and as far as he could tell, was packed with animal experiments. The enormity of the project that had created him fascinated Shadow.

_All of this… to create me?_

Shadow bent his legs and tensed on pure instinct. Even though he couldn't see the bottom of the shaft, his subconscious nudged at him. His toes touched the ground first; a cold metal floor. Going with the flow, he let the artificial gravity pull his body down and forward, the direction of his momentum slightly altered by the position of his legs. Shadow felt the tightly packed muscle in his feet absorb a portion of the impact as he allowed his forward motion to carry him into a roll. As his feet began to pick up, Shadow pushed himself forward along the ground as hard as he could with his feet, while coiling the rest of his body into a near perfect sphere.

The whole process took less than a second, but Shadow was aware of every detail that had gone into its execution. The resulting propulsion slammed his back into the elevator doors, which gave way under the tremendous force and bent, buckled, and broke completely out of its frame. After another twenty feet of rolling, Shadow slowed to a stop. Standing up and looking behind him, Shadow could only marvel at what he'd just done. The bottom floor's elevator doors, instead of being constructed out of a transparent poly like the rest, were five and a half inches of solid steel. Despite this, they lay on the floor, twisted and mangled like a wrecking ball had just come through.

_I guess that answers the physical ability question._

Shadow turned his attention to the room he was in. It was about the same size as the Olympic swimming pool room he had been in only days earlier. Instead of lockers and benches, though, computers and electrical equipment lined the walls. In the center of the room was a rather plain looking five-by-five platform.

Advancing into the room, Shadow noted a layer of dust on all the equipment. No one had visited this area of the ship in a while, it seemed. The Professor obviously wasn't here. And yet…

The black hedgehog stepped up onto the platform, and was instantly greeted by a computer screen floating in front of him. The hologram indicated that it was starting up, then after a few moments asked for a password.

_The professor isn't dull enough to use the same password twice, but he probably didn't expect anyone to be able to find this place either. It shouldn't be too difficult to guess. _Shadow recalled what had happened the last time a password was input incorrectly. Thinking about his first encounter with the Professor reminded him of Maria. He quickly pushed her out of his mind. _Focus. It's better that I didn't try to bring her with me. She probably knows about this place, anyways._

Shadow paused, drawn back into his line of thought. _If she knew, why didn't she tell me? This is where I originated… she must've known I'd be interested._

"_Looking into a person's past can be dangerous. You may find out things you never wanted to know…_ _your past just tells you who you were, not who you are." _Maria's words echoed in his ears. Shadow was torn.

_If I do this, I won't be able to go back, no matter how much I may want to. Is it better to stay oblivious? Is my life right now so bad? I could walk away now and never be any wiser. I'd still be me, Shadow. That would probably make Maria happy…_

Shadow took a long breath in through his nostrils, then breathed out slowly. When he'd finished, he typed in "Chaos" and hit "enter" on the holographic keyboard. The floating monitor immediately expanded in a circular motion, surrounding Shadow. Readouts, displays, project listings… this was the jackpot.

He glanced around, not knowing where to even begin. A familiar name caught his eye to his lower left. The "Eclipse Cannon". The title had been on one of the blueprints in the Professor's lab, when he had gone to visit him during the tour. His curiosity sufficiently piqued, Shadow selected it. He immediately wished that he hadn't.

"Wh-what?" Shadow exclaimed aloud. "What the hell is this?" The cannon utilized the entire A.R.K., blasting unneeded portions out towards the atmosphere, mostly living and berthing spaces! And the purpose itself...!

"To focus immense amounts of Chaos energy into a high energy pulse, with a blast yield great enough to destroy an entire planet?" Shadow closed the window and looked at the other files listed. Choosing one at random, Shadow could only stare, slack jawed. Land to air missiles, targeting systems, geothermal cannons, artificial black holes, bio-chemicals… they were Doomsday machines, one and all!

Shadow pored over file, after file, after file. Each method was different, but the purpose was always the same: destruction. Complete and utter destruction. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. The same Professor that wished to provide a safe and loving environment for his Granddaughter, fueling the Gears of War? It didn't make any sense!

Realization struck. Shadow pulled up a search option and typed in "Ultimate Life Form". The search returned two separate files, one emblazoned with a portrait photo of himself. He opened it.

* * *

_Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form_

_Species: Hybrid_

_Chaos compatibility: 99.99997%_

_Strength: Significant_

_Combat effectiveness: High_

_Mental Acuity: High_

_IQ: 217_

_Appearance: Black and red with stripes, spikes, and fur_

_Threat Assessment: Extremely Dangerous_

_Purpose: A weapon utilizing the newly discovered Chaos energy to ensure the complete destruction of any and all hostile forces._

* * *

Shadow sank to his knees, devastated. Everything the professor had told him was a lie. He had been created to be used as a weapon. There was no way to explain away what he'd just read. No matter what he thought or chose, in the end, he would still be just a weapon. A mindless tool for bringing death.

Standing to his feet and rubbing his forehead, Shadow reread the report, drinking in the information. His headache was now back at full strength, maybe even worse than before. As he scrolled, the second file caught his attention in the upper corner of the screen. There was no picture associated with this file, and it was labeled "Prototype of the Ultimate Life Form".

_A prototype? Of me?_

Shadow opened the file and was met with an air message: "Prototype is currently in stable stasis. End stasis?" The message was followed by a "yes" or "no" button choice. He chose "yes" without a second thought.

Seconds later, a loud grating sound started directly in front of him. The hologram disappeared, and Shadow stepped down from the platform. The wall directly in front of him wasn't a wall: it was a door. Hydraulics hissed and gears turned as the entire wall slid to the right, slowly revealing another animal cage, only much, much larger. Shadow stepped forward as the wall continued to slide away. In the center of the cage, curled around itself, was an enormous creature that nearly filled the entire cage. Its long, scaled neck curved around the left side of its body, while its tail wrapped around the right side.

The creature stirred, at first twitching its appendages, then slowly and deliberately raising its head. As if sensing Shadow's presence, the Prototype brought its head towards the glass, and down to the observing eyes of the Ultimate Life Form. Shadow lifted his hand to the partition, as the giant lizard lowered his head to meet it.

A spark of recognition ignited in Shadow's brain. This creature… was him! Two beings, physically different, with one identical mind. They shared the same implanted memories, the same thoughts, the same questions, the same _essence_. Shadow had quite literally found himself, in another form.

"Shadow…?" a questioning voice asked quietly from behind. Shadow recognized Maria's voice instantly, and with the recognition came a kind of pain. The pain of betrayal.

"How long?" Shadow asked without turning around. "How long have you known about this… about everything?"

Maria chose her word carefully. "I've known about you from the day my Grandfather made the decision to create you."

Shadow let his hand fall from the cage to his side. "So, after all this time… all that talk about free will, making my own decisions, finding a purpose… that was all a lie."

"It wasn't a…" Maria began.

"Was I created to be a weapon, yes or no?" Shadow cut her off as he spun around to face her.

"Shadow, you…" Maria tried again.

"_Yes or no?_" his voice called out, magnified by the silence in the room and the intensity of his own anger. Maria looked down at her feet, unable to meet Shadow's eyes. She knew he had misunderstood, that he didn't know the whole story. Shadow, on the other hand, seemed to think he understood perfectly. He'd found the answers he was looking for, and had found only treachery. His heart had been torn.

Maria found her resolve and looked up into Shadow's eyes. "Yes," she answered, silently swearing to herself that she would make this right.

Shadow let his muscles go limp, letting the truth in her words sink in, accepting them. He chuckled once, then twice, almost maniacally. He leaned back, resting his spikes against the cage of the Prototype. Any reservation he'd had, any doubt that may have been lingering, was now gone. He felt like something inside of him had broken.

"I need to leave," Shadow spoke as he pushed himself forward, away from the cage.

"Where are you going?" Maria asked, concerned.

"Away. Far away. I can't stay here anymore." Shadow brushed past Maria, heading for the elevator that was now waiting at the bottom of the busted shaft.

"You don't know everything Shadow! Shadow! Shadow, listen to me…!" Maria pleaded.

"No, Maria, _you _listen to _me_!" the hedgehog spun around, pointing his finger at Maria accusingly. "I am no one's tool! Do you have any idea what you and your grandfather gave to me, and then stripped away?" Shadow's anger was beginning to boil. He could feel it growing inside of him, and made no attempt to quell it.

"The entire time I've been on this station, I've been ridiculed, shunned, rejected and despised! I've been treated like a monster! The only ones who showed any kind of concern for me were you and the Professor! And now I find out that instead of being kind and benevolent, you've been lying to my face! The only ones who _haven't_ lied to me this entire time were the _scientists_!

"You didn't care about my situation or predicament at all! You were in it for yourself! You took advantage of my naiveté to solve your own abandonment issues! The only damn reason you decided to talk to me, spend time with me, or tolerate me is because without me, you'd be completely and totally alone!"

_Slap!_

The chamber fell into silence once again. Shadow, eyes wide in shock, focused on Maria's tear stained face. Her left hand red and swelling, Maria let her tears fall down her face, her expression one of unbearable pain. Shadow instantly regretted every word he'd said. How could he have said that? He'd let his temper get the best of him, and had lashed out, hurting the one person who he'd never wanted to hurt.

"Maria, I…" Shadow started quietly.

_Slap!_

Maria's right hand soared across Shadow's face, this time leaving a visible imprint. Shadow raised his hand to his face, feeling the burning sensation on his cheek. His anger had dissipated, and he now only wished to comfort Maria, and apologize.

He never got the chance.

His head now clear, Shadow attempted to bury the power that had been growing inside him, fueled by his rage. He forced it down, willing it to become still. In that instant, Shadow's headache suddenly magnified tenfold. Maria fell backwards as red tendrils of Chaos energy shot from all over Shadow's body. Shadow screamed in pain as his body rose from the floor, the bolts of Chaos energy blackening everything they touched. The Prototype, now fully awake, stood to his feet as he and Maria looked on in wonder and horror.

Shadow's vision had gone from dazzling red to pure white hot. He couldn't think, breath, or move. The only thing he could do was try to hold on to his sanity as his brain was seared with burning embers, stabbed with countless knives, and repeatedly smashed again and again. Just when he thought he couldn't possibly bear another second of torment, the world went black.

* * *

A young Ivo Robotnik stood next to his Grandfather, shocked and awed by the sight in front of him. Ten floors below the Eclipse Cannon, at a side entrance to the Chaos laboratory, the station ceased to exist. Forty floors down and several football fields away, the station abruptly started again. A gigantic sphere had been cut out of the heart of the station, its edges burnt to a crisp. As scientists and security gathered at the edges of the phenomena to look on, Ivo watched as the Professor broke down and wept.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please don't forget to review! It fuels me! Did any of you see this coming? Does anyone know what'll happen next? Can you guess the epic conclusion? All this and more in future installments! Stay tuned!


	9. Waking Up

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some of you seemed to be pretty clueless as to what happened in the last chapter; good, I wanted it that way. This chapter is much more descriptive, and there isn't much dialogue. I tried to give more insight into the methodical reasoning I would expect Shadow's mind to be like, without making him too mushy or comical. If he doesn't seem serious enough, well... sorry, but that's the way it is.

* * *

Shadow once again found himself waking up to an unfamiliar situation. Through the lids of his eyes, Shadow could sense that there was faint light beyond them. His body felt… weird.

_I don't remember going to sl- Maria! _Shadow's mind switched to full alert, remembering what had happened. He sat up quickly, then froze. Maria was in front of him on the ground, unconscious, but what really concerned him was the giant pool of his own blood underneath his body. Lining Shadow's arms and legs, parallel with his red stripes were long deep gashes, large enough to see directly into his body. On top of all that, his body tingled. Shadow realized that his entire body was numb.

_I'm pretty messed up, and my wounds aren't healing. The numbness is probably the only reason I'm able to move without fainting from sheer pain. That's good, but it also means I won't be able to tell if I'm causing myself more injury._ Maria was breathing, and there didn't seem to be any immediate danger, so Shadow took a moment to take stock of his surroundings. They were still in the secret lab, but everything was off somehow. Dark burn marks zigzagged across the walls of the room, and the entire room seemed slanted. Shadow confirmed it by watching his blood race across the ground to his left. The power also seemed to be out, and the red emergency lighting had turned on.

Shadow put his hands on the ground to push himself up, only to find that with each movement, more blood shot out from his open wounds. _Not good. I probably can't lose much more blood. _He had to find a way to get himself and Maria to safety, without physically moving. _Easier said than done, _he thought to himself.

_If I can't move, I need to find a way to use Chaos. I'm sure I set off several alarms when I did… whatever I did. There should be help on the way. But… with the power out…_

The elevator was definitely a no-go. With the power out there was no way to call it, and there was no way he'd be able to climb the shaft. There were no other doors in the room, though…

_There has to be more than one way out. If his experiment was in danger… "_ding!" went the lightbulb in Shadow's head. If there was another way out, it was most definitely connected to the Prototype's cage. Shadow shimmied, turning his body to face the cage. When the power had gone out, a blast door equal in size to the transparent polymer used for the cage had swung into place on three five-foot hinges. Shadow couldn't see inside the cage, and although the lock was a mechanical, there didn't seem to be a way to open the blast door without some kind of electrical input.

_If I can take care of the lock, the slant of the room should make it swing open on its own. All right…_

Shadow raised his hand towards the lock and focused on his power, deep inside. He'd done the process several times, and was getting better and faster. First he had to find it, then build it up until it could be released. Recalling his past experiences, he tried replicating the results. After about a minute and a half of intense concentration, to his surprise, he felt nothing.

_That can't be right, I must be doing something wrong. Unless… _Shadow looked down at himself. The fact that his wounds hadn't healed explained it all; he was out of juice. The vast reserve of power he'd begun to rely on was nowhere to be found, and the more Shadow thought about it, the more it made sense.

_A Chaos overload. My body generates and circulates Chaos energy, storing it for later use. Theoretically, I should be able to contain an immense amount of that energy. _Shadow recalled the file he'd seen on the computer earlier "Chaos compatibility: 99.99997%".

_That's it,_ Shadow realized. _I'm not 100% effective! It may take a long time, in my case weeks, to see the change, but eventually the buildup would be too much to handle. The power would build up to be greater than my body can naturally contain, until it reached 100%, then 101%, then 102%... that explains my headache, and why I felt so good after using my power. After reaching my limit, the pent up Chaos energy must've forced its way out through the path of least resistance. That explains the burn marks, my wounds, and why they're not healing._

_This isn't good. If I sit still, I'll die. If I move, I'll die faster. I have no power, no blood, and no help. Think! There has to be a way out of here!_

A sudden clattering brought Shadow's attention overhead. In a vent directly above his head, Shadow could hear movement. The vent was small, not big enough for a person to fit in.

_Some of the experiments must've escaped their cages in the commotion. They'll be a hassle for the security teams to track down. Some of them have increased intelligence, too… _"ding!", the lightbulb in Shadow's head went off a second time, then immediately dimmed. _That couldn't possibly work. It would be too convenient. Still…_

The problem was getting whatever animal was up there down to where he was. Shadow didn't have any tools, and couldn't see a way to affect the ventilation shaft from where he was. The vent was a good twenty feet above him, too.

_No choice, then._ Shadow dug deep into himself, searching for any trace of Chaos power that may have been left. Some time had passed since he'd released it all, so there should at least be a small amount somewhere. Shadow searched inside himself, digging deeper, through layers and layers of his mind. Each was dry and barren, devoid of any power. The first few were simple to break through, but as he continued the layers became thicker and tougher. It was like he was actually excavating. One by one, Shadow shut out his senses. He could hear, see, and smell nothing. All that existed was the next layer. _Deeper, deeper… it's got to be here._

_There! _Shadow burst through the final layer, and found his pool of power. He touched it with his mind, letting the ripples spread out. _Now… _he grabbed hold of the pool, willing it to be solid, and drew it up though the layers he'd tediously dug through. Shadow let the pool heat, steam, and boil until it was writhing and frothing.

Shadow opened his eyes and lifted his hand. White electricity connected between his fingers, dancing across his palm. He wouldn't have another chance at this; the power he'd called up was minimal and weak. He didn't have enough power for more than a few shots.

_Should I aim for the vent itself? No, if I can hit the screws, the vent may open._ Shadow focused his aim on one of the flat cut screws on the underside of the vent opening. When he was sure he was aiming correctly, he released it. The white lightning arced out from his hand, zigzagging through the air. It hit the screw right on the head, causing the screw to immediately explode into miniscule pieces.

Shadow was intrigued by the path the lightning took. Deciding to risk a shot, Shadow extended his hand directly behind him, not towards the vent, but still focusing on aiming at the second screw. This time when he released the bolt, the arc shot out behind him, then curved through the air, redirecting towards the screw. The second screw exploded in the same way as the first, and the panel for the vent dropped open.

_Will my powers never cease to amaze me? So, it doesn't matter where I point, as long as my focus is on what I'm aiming for. Good to know. Now, about that creature._

As if on cue, a small head popped out from the vent entrance. Shadow tilted his head, squinting. The animal flashed a familiar crooked smile, and he immediately recognized it as belonging to the hedgehog he'd seen earlier. He groaned on the inside, but quickly dismissed his disdain. This was actually for the best.

"Come help me," Shadow spoke to the hedgehog. "I know you can understand me."

The hedgehog cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. He looked down at Shadow, then around the ground below him. His expression went flat, then he backed away from the entrance.

"Where are you going? A small fall like this won't hurt you!" The hedgehog returned, shaking his head from side to side before turning to leave again.

"Wait! I… need your help…" Shadow looked down, then over at Maria. "…to help her…" for the first time, Shadow thought about what had transpired and caused all of this. He felt an ache in his heart, not because Maria had hurt him, but because he had hurt her. He thought he would feel better if he lashed out at her, since she was the reason he'd felt so bad in the first place, but… in the end, it had only made him feel worse.

"I hurt her… said some things I shouldn't have. I have to help her, to make up for it. And I can't do that unless you help me."

The hedgehog looked back into the room one more time, and looked at Maria, still unconscious on the floor. He turned to Shadow and smiled again, as if to say "Why didn't you say that earlier?". He promptly jumped down from the opening, landing on all fours, coming to a rest after bouncing twice. Shadow reached over his own blood and grabbed the creature from its underside.

_This is the real test. Hedgehogs can hold sixty-five to seventy percent Chaos energy, right? I need to borrow some of that._ Shadow focused, and found it surprisingly easy to connect to the hedgehog's power. The layers were a different consistency altogether, and seemed to flow more than his, which seemed ridged. _I guess everyone has their strong points._

Shadow felt the hedgehog relax, allowing him to draw the energy out. Almost immediately, Shadow could see his wounds beginning to heal. Careful not to waste energy, Shadow focused on closing the wounds as opposed to healing them completely. He wasn't out of this place yet, and who knew when he might need more Chaos energy.

Making sure he didn't accidentally take all of the energy, Shadow replenished his reserves. After he finished, he checked on the hedgehog. The creature was sound asleep, its body working quickly to restore its lost energy.

_At least yours stops at 70%. I'm going to have to careful about gauging and frequently releasing my power, to keep from going over my limit._

Without a second thought, Shadow released a pinpoint shot of yellow Chaos energy at the mechanical lock. The shot pierced straight through, completely destroying the lock and releasing the blast door. The blast door swung wide open, barely missing Maria's unconscious form as it whizzed past her head before slamming against the side wall.

_Oops. I guess I need to be more careful. I'm getting much faster and stronger with my abilities, though._

Shadow approached the poly separating him and the Prototype. The lizard raised its head, and seeing Shadow, stood to its feet. Shadow released a wave from both of his outstretched hands, allowing the heat to spread. Within moments, the poly had been reduced to a quickly cooling puddle.

Now that the barrier was gone, Shadow could clearly see a way out. The cage had been designed to be able to emergency eject itself into space in the event the experiment went wild or an accident occurred. In a worst case scenario, the out of control Prototype would perish. Otherwise, the ejected pod could be recovered and the experiment could continue. The entire mechanism was explosively based, so an ejection could be made even if the power went out.

"I'm going to get us out of here. Any objections?" Shadow directed his question at the Prototype. The creature took a step back and lowered its head momentarily, which Shadow took to mean "No".

Shadow walked over to Maria, and gathered her up in his arms. Some of the blood still on his arms rubbed off onto Maria's dress, leaving green splotches. _So much for being careful. _He was still numb, but his balance seemed to be okay and his body wasn't rejecting his movements. Yet.

As he slowly made his way back into the cage with the Prototype, Maria stirred in his arms. Shadow looked down at her face as her eyes opened. "Shadow? What…"

"Can you stand?" Shadow asked as he began to set her down. He didn't want to exert himself any more than he had to.

"Yes, I think…" Maria's eyes snapped wide as she struggled to get out of Shadow's reach. He released her, and she quickly took several steps back. "Stay away from me!"

Shadow's eyes fell. _I guess I should've expected that._ Maria looked down at the floor, mimicking Shadow. Her face had an odd expression Shadow hadn't seen before. It looked like there was something she wanted to say, but didn't at the same time. He decided to speak first. "Fine," Shadow responded. He turned to the levers on the wall, manually initiating the eject system. An air tight door fell from the ceiling, re-sealing the cage from the lab as it locked into place. An emergency powered timer appeared as several sounds of hydraulics could be heard. It started to count down from one minute.

"What are you doing?" Maria exclaimed.

"This lab has been cut off from the rest of the ship." Shadow answered. "If we want to be saved quickly, the best option is to make ourselves conspicuous. When the A.R.K. sees the launched escape pod, they'll come pick us up."

"But…" Maria began, stepping forward. As she did, she winced in pain and curled her leg. Without thinking, Shadow leapt to keep her from falling, catching her again in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Shadow asked just before Maria fought her way out of his hands again.

"I'm fine. I'm used to being on my own," she retorted with a little bite in her tone.

Shadow sighed. He had to fix this. "Maria, I " Shadow stopped, his attention divided. The Prototype stood behind Maria, observing quietly. To their right, near the newly re-sealed entrance, a loose panel on the ground drew his interest. Shadow moved past Maria and knelt to get a better look.

"What is it?" Maria asked, her face still drawn.

Underneath the panel was an artificial gravity generator. The wires and gyros were completely busted, and it was likely that the panel had been scheduled for maintenance. That wasn't what worried Shadow, though.

_This AGG isn't receiving any power, which means the other generators under the other panels aren't getting power either… but… we still have gravity? We should've been floating this entire time! If the gravity we're experiencing isn't from the colony, where…?_

"Five seconds to ejection. Four…" a female voice played from the manual ejection panel.

Shadow's mind race through the possibilities. All of them were bad. _Shit._

"We're not in space! Brace yourselves!" Shadow yelled.

"Three… two…"

"What?" Maria froze, unsure of what to do. Her mind hadn't yet fully processed what Shadow had shouted. The Prototype immediately plopped down on his stomach, distributing his body's weight along the floor. Shadow noticed Maria, standing clueless.

"One…"

_"Maria!"_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Shadow's getting stronger, and the plot's getting thicker...


	10. Soft Landings

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Working on borrowed internet, so since I has no XBOX Live, you guys get more chapters (lolz). Remember that Reviews=New Chapters, and thank you to those of you who have continued to follow the story's progress. I find myself repeating words pretty often, so sorry for my lack of descriptive power. Cstan was close on his guess, but... not quite. More will be revealed!

* * *

"_Maria!" _Shadow called out, in vain. The emergency eject countdown finished and the first explosion went off, blasting the cage sideways through a long corridor on rails. The resulting force from the sudden movement threw Shadow and Maria backwards against the re-sealed cage door, while the Prototype managed to prevent himself from rolling back, which would have crushed them both.

Shadow, still numb from his earlier ordeal, felt no pain as he crashed into the wall. Maria, however, had the wind knocked out of her, and could do nothing but huddle against the wall as secondary and tertiary explosions went off, propelling the container even faster towards the exit.

Then, a sudden calm descended. Shadow could no longer hear the grinding of metal on the rails, and the explosions had ceased.

_We're still moving, and there's no way we reached the end of the station already._ Shadow's suspicions were confirmed by a falling sensation, and a feel of reduced weight. The floor panel he'd removed earlier began to float upwards, as well as Maria's hair.

They were falling, and quickly at that. Their forward motion had dwindled some, but the fact remained that they were moving extremely fast.

_If we're not in space and we hit something, we're done for. I need to see what's coming, but if I start blowing holes and we _are_ in space, we're dead. I need confirmation first… preferably not when we hit the ground, or whatever's out there. Gravity is a… _"ding!" the lightbulb in Shadow's head made an encore performance, and Shadow's face came to life.

_I haven't the slightest clue how long we have, so we'll just have to do it as quick as possible._

Utilizing the weightlessness provided from falling, Shadow deftly jumped to the Prototype's head and spoke into its ear. "I need you to use your weight to flip us upside-down!" The Prototype fixed his right eye on Shadow, and he knew that it understood what he was going to do.

_Having one mind in two heads is better than in one, or something like that._

Shadow swung himself around the Prototype's neck, jumping off of his throat towards Maria. The beast wasted no time in pushing himself off of the floor of the cage towards the upper right side of the re-sealed door, throwing his weight into the ceiling. The room immediately gave way, moving a few degrees a second in a counterclockwise direction while facing the door.

Maria was still curled in a ball, dazed, when Shadow reached her. He grabbed her arm and jumped off from the wall, pulling her with him towards the manual levers near the lower left side of the door. Quickly scanning the levers, he couldn't find the one he was looking for. Maria let herself be dragged, her brain unable to keep up with the events happening so fast around her.

_To hell with this. _Shadow aimed for the corner made by the first row of AGG panels and the wall panels. He focused his thoughts willing the energy to be wide and solid, instead of piercing and destructive. The result pleased him. All the panels he struck broke loose and shot out past and behind him due to the weightlessness. Unfortunately, the lack of weight also pushed Shadow outward, away from the panels. He instinctively let go of Maria's hand. At this point, the capsule was almost completely upside down.

Maria felt Shadow let go of her, and began to panic. "Shadow…"

"Stay there!" Shadow called out, as he reached the opposite wall. He was now directly under the first AGG panel he'd removed earlier. "When I say, pull the lever directly behind you!"

Confused and disoriented, Maria made a mental effort to forget everything except what Shadow told her. _Behind me._ She grabbed a stray lever to her side, and positioned herself in front of the lever Shadow must've been talking about. Everything was upside down, so the lever looked like it was on, but Maria knew better. She turned to look at Shadow.

With a little extra effort, Shadow reached up and grabbed the AGG from beneath: above if it had been right side up. He shoved his hands into the unit and found the power coupling that connected the colony's main power to the generator. The Professor's words rang quite clearly in his mind.

"…_even inanimate objects, like this ship, can channel and contain Chaos, if built correctly. In concentrated amounts, Chaos can display seemingly impossible feats, such as rapidly heal wounds, increase physical ability, and even be released as pure energy to power machines."_

_This had better work, old man. _Shadow felt his power leaving him as he transferred it into the AGG.

"Maria, do it now!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Maria flipped the lever. The effect was instantaneous: down became up, up became down, and everything that floated around in the air slammed to the ceiling… which was really the floor. The Prototype expertly flipped as he fell up, watching his long neck and tail to avoid hitting Shadow or Maria. Shadow, who'd already planted his feet against the ceiling (which was really the floor) didn't move as he felt his weight shift upwards. Maria, who hadn't thought that far ahead, fell up about three feet and landed dome first on the ceiling (which was really the floor).

The deceleration was also instantaneous. Shadow could only compare it to the feeling of an elevator that had been traveling up very quickly slowing down as it approached its destination.

_We must've been close to the ground… or whatever's out there. If I'd been a little late with my idea…_ Shadow decided not to think about it. _More importantly, this is eating up a ton of energy! I'm not going to be able to hold this long._

Shadow strained to keep a constant flow of energy flowing through the AGG, but he was already on his reserves, and they were nearly depleted. The cage had nearly stopped moving, but there was no telling how close they actually were to the ground. If the weight they carried was greater than the AGG's ability to reject the gravity they were experiencing, they still might crash into the ground. If not, they might hover too far off the ground, only to fall and injure themselves when Shadow ran out of power.

His strength fading, Shadow resolved to hold on for a few more seconds. Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to continue…

_Thump!_

The cage abruptly jolted. They had touched down safely. An exhausted Shadow released his grip on the power unit, and fell to the ceiling below. Maria gave a short shriek as the world righted itself; she found herself subject to the effects of gravity once again. The Prototype snagged Maria tenderly in its mouth as it once again displayed incredible flexibility and maneuverability by landing on its feet. Once safely on the ground, it set Maria down as well.

Mentally drained, Shadow let himself fall without attempting to land safely. He hit the ground with a dull _thud_, and didn't move. He wasn't injured… at least, not that he knew of. Still numb, Shadow felt like taking a quick nap to recover his energy. They were safe, for the moment. He just needed to close his eyes…

"Are you all right?" Maria asked from above him. Shadow opened his eyes and found himself staring deep into her blue eyes yet again, although they lacked the brilliance they'd had when they first met. A trail of blood running down her temple made him abandon all thoughts of sleep and rest.

"You're bleeding," he said, sitting up.

"I'm fine," she responded. "I didn't just fall twenty feet."

"Let me wrap it up for you," Shadow offered. He stood to his feet and faced her.

"I'm fine," she repeated.

"Does it hurt at all?" he continued.

"I'm _fine_," she stressed.

"Bend down so I can take a look," Shadow persisted.

"_I said I'm fine!"_ Maria yelled. Shadow fell silent. "I'm perfectly fine! I'm better than fine! I'm great, I'm super! Getting nearly drowned? Being accused of false friendship? Being ejected from who-knows-what height to who-knows-where? That's nothing! It doesn't stress me out or make me sad in the slightest! I'm not lonely, I'm not angry, I'm not depressed! I'm just _fine!_"

Shadow could only stand and accept what she shouted at him. He didn't talk back, or look away. He stared straight into Maria's eyes as she unloaded a month's worth of anger and frustration on him.

Maria took in several deep breaths, held them in for a few moments, then slowly let them out, attempting to calm herself. After a few breaths, she smelled something… different. It lingered in her nose, then tickled the back of her tongue. She quickly drew another breath, eager to identify the smell. Maria's hair and dress momentarily drifted forward, carried by a gust of wind from behind. As if in a trance, Maria turned around and shuffled towards a small opening in the ceiling that must've been caused by their crash landing.

The opening was just small enough for a person to crawl through, and before Maria herself knew what she was doing, she had crawled through the hole to what awaited outside. What she saw nearly made her heart stop.

The ejected pod had landed with its left and right sides on the opposite banks of a river. On both sides of the river, continuing as far as she could see, luscious plants, trees, and nature sprang forth. Behind the pod, she could see that the source of the river came from a mountain source; the mountain began to incline steeply only a few hundred yards behind them. On top of one of the lower peaks, Maria stared in disbelief at a sphere of metal jutting out, which she could only assume had been where they'd ejected from.

In the opposite direction from the mountain, a waterfall gave way to a valley that extended far into the distance. The river also continued until it reached the ocean, which shimmered at the edge of the horizon. Nesting on the horizon was a setting sun, casting a soft red light over the entire landscape. As Maria continued to stare, captivated by the beauty of it all, a gust of wind flowing inland carried the smell of the ocean to her nose. She took another deep breath, feeling as though she was truly breathing for the first time. Maria was so entranced, she didn't even notice that Shadow had also exited the pod, and was standing beside her.

"Maria…" Shadow said softly. "you're crying."

"I'm fine, Shadow," Maria managed, as tears streamed down her face and past her smiling mouth. "I'm really fine."

Shadow smiled, the image of Maria's brilliantly shining eyes ingrained is his memory once more. He conceded, knowing that this time, she really was… just fine.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Awww... ain't that sweet. I bet you suckers thought Maria was gonna die before she had a chance to experience true nature (heartless bastards). For anyone who may have had questions regarding how I write my stories or come up with good ideas... it's all ad lib. When I put my fingers to the board, the story literally writes itself. I originally wanted Shadow to do some badass blow-crap-up-while-holding-Maria-and-somehow-land-safely stuff, but I quickly realized it wouldn't be realistic. From there... ideas just flew out from my fingers. You can write amazing things from the smallest details, guys. Don't give up!


	11. A Night in the Wild

Within an hour or so, complete darkness had descended around them. With Maria's help, Shadow successfully released the mechanisms holding the airtight door to the ejected capsule, allowing the Prototype to step out into the wild. They wasted no time in setting up camp and making a fire, a task made much less difficult by the Prototype, who found and uprooted a dead tree, then smashed it to bits. The dry wood provided plenty of fuel for the fire, which Shadow managed to spark with significant difficulty.

Maria sat on one side of the fire, staring at the flickering flames, something she'd never been able to do on the A.R.K. due to safety concerns. She gingerly rubbed her temple with her right hand. After much nagging from Shadow, she'd allowed him to wrap the cut using a piece of her dress. His stubbornness was beginning to irritate her, and when she told him that he didn't have to, he responded with "I'll do what I can."

On the opposite side of the fire, Shadow stared into the flames as well. His mind was completely elsewhere, though. The more and more he thought about their situation, the more things didn't add up. The stars in the sky were the same as the ones that could be seen from the space station, which meant they _should_ be on Earth… but if that was true, where was the cavalry? Shadow also couldn't ignore the giant chunk of the station stuck in the mountain to the East. There was no way a sphere of that size could have been physically removed from the rest of the station, at least not without causing serious damage, which he could see no evidence of. The questions continued to roll around in his head, but in the end, all they did was confuse him.

The Prototype was laid out on Shadow's left and Maria's right, encircling their camp with his own body. He kept his eyes and ears open, alert for any sign of danger, while trying earnestly to ignore the rumbling of his own stomach.

A shrill, high pitched whine caught the attention of all three, and caused Shadow to jump to his feet.

"Calm down, Shadow. It's just a Cicada." Maria explained.

"A what?" Shadow asked as he slowly sank back to his seat.

"A Cicada. An insect. Grandfather had a few of them in his lab for study. They must've been able to get out of their cages when we crashed." Maria leaned back, resting on the Prototype's tail. "Most of the animals probably escaped, now that I think about it. While Grandfather did experiments on all types of creatures, the only ones he kept on the station were the ones capable of being vegetarians. With a forest like this, I don't think any of them will go hungry. The Research Division's going to be here for months trying to recapture all of these guys…"

The Prototype, his hopes for excitement dashed, lowered his head and let out a audible sigh.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Shadow interjected. Maria furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Shadow through the fire, her question clearly stated by her expression. "It's just a feeling," Shadow finished.

"How suspicious," Maria said accusingly. Shadow averted his eyes, not wanting to concern her any more than he had to. After a few moments silence, Maria closed her eyes. Shadow was becoming harder and harder to read. She felt like he was hiding something, perhaps several somethings from her. Maria let her mind drift, thinking of the events of that day, until her mind inevitably reminded her of Shadow's outburst. _I wonder if I should be waiting for him to apologize,_ she thought to herself. Maria opened her eyes again, watching Shadow as he continued to look right, through the opening in the camp past the Prototype's head, towards the waterfall. Chuckling to herself, she shook her head. _No, Shadow would never apologize. He thinks he's too tough for that. Instead he'd…_ Maria's eyes softened as she realized. _He'd do whatever he could…_

Shadow, once again deeply engaged in thought, was jerked back to reality by a light pressure on his left cheek. The feeling of Maria's pursed lips made him blush, almost involuntarily. His confusion only grew as Maria crossed over to his right side, bent down, and kissed him on the opposite cheek as well.

"Apology accepted," she remarked with a smile as she turned and walked towards the opening in the camp.

"Wait," Shadow called out, his right hand firmly glued to his cheek. "Where are you going?"

"To take a bath in the river," she replied. Maria lifted her right hand and made a clenched fist. "If you peek, you're dead." Although she was still smiling, Shadow felt a shiver go up his spine as he realized she was serious.

As Maria walked past the Prototype's tail, she could still feel a pair of eyes watching her back. "That threat goes for _both_ of you," she tossed back. The Prototype snorted, then turned his head toward the tree line.


	12. Stranger Circumstances

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't know what most of you think about the Shadow I've portrayed here, but I like the idea of the bad ass, stoic, dark hero that is Shadow being completely helpless when faced with the spontaneous and eccentric Maria. This chapter will set the timeline for the rest of the story, and some of you may even be able to make more accurate guesses as to the future direction of the story. BTW, special thanks to **Mikaela the Cat** for insight into a possible Shadow/Maria encounter that I may include in this story at a later date. Kudos!

Most of the events in this story play like a movie in my head, and every good movie has a soundtrack. While writing the third section of this chapter, the song "One Simple Idea" from the "Inception" soundtrack was playing in my head. Listen to it on youtube or in your own Library if you have it.

The next morning, Maria opened her eyes, slowly awakening to the sunlight pouring down from the mountains. She'd gone to sleep propped up against the body of the Prototype, whose body heat kept her warm even without a blanket. Opposite of her, through the smoke from the smoldering embers, Maria could see Shadow, still sleeping soundly. The Prototype had also given in to sleep, after keeping watch for danger through most of the night.

Maria recalled that the only times she'd seen Shadow asleep was during his first day of recovery and after the pool incident. Other than that, Maria had never known him to sleep at all. Connecting what Walter had told her with what she already knew, she guessed that Shadow only had to sleep when he used a lot of energy.

_We've certainly been through a lot in the last day… he never mentioned being tired at all, though. Maybe he's not as tough as he thinks, _she smiled to herself.

Maria stood up and called out to him, softly at first. "Shadow… _Shadow_…" When the hedgehog didn't immediately respond, she called out louder. "Shadow!"

Shadow's mind registered Maria's call, waking him up. His eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly.

The world instantly turned red as searing pain shot across his entire body. His arms, legs, chest… they all felt like someone was tearing them open with knives! Shadow screamed at the intense pain that wracked his body, making Maria jump nearly a foot in the air and immediately rousing the Prototype, who stood to his feet looking for danger.

"_Shadow! Shadow, what's wrong?_" Maria cried helplessly. Shadow tried his best to answer, but was unable to manage any sound past his clenched mouth and tightened vocal chords. His entire body was tensed, an automatic response to danger and pain. In this case though, it was working against him.

The cause was obvious to Shadow, even in his tortured state of mind: the wounds under the surface of his skin had never healed, and whatever circumstance that had caused him to become numb had long worn off. This pain was in direct connection to what he should have felt when waking up in the laboratory only hours before.

_Stop clenching… relax… calm down… _Shadow mentally forced himself to slow his body's reactions trying to lessen the pain. It didn't help. The pain was unbearable, and Shadow found himself quickly relapsing to screaming.

A sharp pain in Shadow's neck momentarily distracted him from his pain, long enough to form a thought. _What was that?_

Moments later, Shadow felt his limbs go limp and his body relax of its own accord, and a few more after that he felt his mind slipping back under the waves of his own subconscious.

~ (Song start)

When Shadow awoke again, the first thing he felt was the pain. It hadn't numbed at all in the time he'd been asleep. He groaned in pain, opening his eyes. Shadow could hear several unfamiliar voices, speaking in language he couldn't understand. He quickly noticed blurry forms rushing to and fro, around the bed he was laying on. One in particular stood out from the rest, and seemed to be directing the others.

From the sound of the voice, Shadow took it to belong to a female. When his vision finally came into focus, though, what he saw completely defied what he expected. The female stood at the head of his bed, was slightly shorter than himself, and had bright orange fur all over her body. She had several tattoos, the hair on her head joined into thick dreadlocks that came down to her shoulders, and her eyes were a light shade of blue. Whoever this was, she definitely wasn't human.

The next thing Shadow noticed was his surroundings. He was in a small room, the walls of which were hand crafted from shoots of wood. Sunlight filtering in through cracks told him that this was the only room in the small hut. The walls were lined with four shelves with various pots and equipment.

Seeing that Shadow had awoken, the creature in charge directed one of the helpers towards a small bowl on a shelf. This one was more elderly than the first, with significantly more tattoos and a deeper orangish red coloring. The second took a needle and dipped it into the liquid in the bowl, then handed it to the first. The female brought the needle level to his head, bringing it closer to his neck.

_They're doctors… _Shadow reasoned. _She must be trying to put me back to sleep so they can operate._ Shadow grunted, trying to protest. "Nngh…" He winced as he took a breath and tried again. "No!"

The female stopped, the point of the needle hovering just in front of his neck. After a few seconds hesitation, she made to continue.

"_No!_" Shadow managed to grunt through the pain again. This time, the female removed the needle completely, then stood beside him and leaned her head in close.

"Can you understand me?" She spoke clearly and directly. She deliberately pronounced each word with annunciation, as if she was unsure he would understand.

"Yes…" Shadow groaned in-between short breaths.

She smiled briefly before continuing to speak. "Medically speaking, you shouldn't even be alive right now, let alone able to talk. You must have a very strong will to live."

Shadow opened his mouth to attempt to speak, but she stopped him.

"Don't speak, it will take up more energy than you have to spare. I will do everything I can to help you, but I'm afraid your injuries are extremely severe, and I have never seen anatomy such as yours before." The creature turned and grabbed a glowing circlet from a box underneath the shelves. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were glowing with a blue light even lighter than her natural eye color.

She held the glowing ring in her left hand while running her right hand over Shadow's body. "Even though it looks as though you're perfectly fine on the outside, you have severe internal bleeding and most of your muscles have been severed."

_Can she see _inside_ of me?_

"I don't have the level of skill to heal your wounds," she continued, shaking her head and lowering her head. Her eyes stopped glowing, and she lowered her left hand, resting the ring on the bed. "At this rate, even though you've lasted this long…" Clearly frustrated, she gripped the edges of the bed. "I just don't know what to do…"

Then, a curious thing happened. A spark of energy jumped from the ring she was holding to Shadow's hand. Shadow, noticing the slight energy transfer, immediately grabbed and wrenched the ring from her fingers. A surge of energy flowed into Shadow, and he immediately put it to work repairing himself. Shadow sighed as he felt the insides of his body righting themselves, connecting, reconnecting, and fortifying. Within moments, most of the more fatal injuries in Shadow's body had been completely repaired. The ring itself, completely spent of all its energy, dissipated into nothingness.

Shadow breathed in and out several times. The pain that had crushed his body before had been reduced greatly to an incessant throbbing all over his body. He looked over at the female that had been attending to him. Her eyes were wide with shock, and her mouth hung slightly open. After a few seconds of staring, she sunk to her knees, slack jawed. Looking around the room, Shadow could see similar expressions on the faces of the attending nurses.

Not appreciating the vibe in the room, Shadow decided he had better things to worry about. He attempted to sit up, only to find that it had become much more difficult than normal. As he struggled to raise the upper half of his body, the female doctor sprung into action, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him down onto the bed.

"Don't you dare move a muscle!" She reached into the chest behind her and grabbed another ring, running the hand on Shadow's shoulder across the length of his body. "Someone in your condition shouldn't…" Her glowing eyes squinted, scrutinizing the inner workings of his body. Shadow looked on as her mouth dropped open a second time, revealing her astonishment.

"Satisfied?" Shadow asked smugly.

"This… this isn't possible… how did you?" She grasped for words, unable to describe what she saw.

"Get me another ring, and I'll show you exactly how."

The doctor looked him in the eye. "Who _are_ you?"

"My name is Shadow."

"Father!" The doctor ran into the front door of the Chieftain's stone dwelling, out of breath. The Chieftain was sitting on an ornate throne at the back of the room; his fur was a deep red color, and a rough beard grew out from his aged face. Guarded by two warriors on both his left and right, he looked up from the maps on the table in front of him as his daughter entered. The room was well lit by torches mounted on the walls, and it was decorated with many weapons, furs, and maps.

"Tikal!" he stood up quickly. "What's wrong?"

"It's… about… the visitor," she said between breaths, communicating with her father in their native tongue. The Chieftain motioned to the two guards, who left the room immediately and closed the door behind them.

"So he has passed, then," the Chieftain surmised. "It is regrettable to hear of his death, although from what I hear, his injuries were more formidable than any we'd encountered before. More importantly, were able to discover where he was from? Perhaps somewhere over the mountains? We should send a scouting party to…"

"_Father!_" Tikal shouted, exasperated. "You will do no such thing! Besides, the visitor is fine! As a matter of fact, he's perfectly healthy!"

The Chieftain furrowed his eyes in confusion. "That conflicts with the information I was given. I was told his injuries were so bad that he'd be dead within hours. Was I misinformed?"

"No," she answered. "He says his name is Shadow. Father… he has the Ancient Power!"

The Chieftain's eyes grew wide as he slumped back into his seat. "So… the Hero has finally appeared…"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I can see your mind right now. It's saying "_What the f- _**BOOOOOOOOM!**" That's perfectly normal. It gets better.


	13. The Legend

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I got some positive feedback on the mood music, so I have a few more songs prepared for this chapter, if you don't mind. They are listed in the order you should play them, and I've added footnotes in the chapter to show where they should be played. I also tried to pick music most may not be familiar with, but help set the tone for the scene. Of course, you don't _have_ to listen… but it can be nice, if you try it out.

One Calm ("Ima Sokoni Iru Boku" OST, a.k.a "Now and Then, Here and There")

Lighting Lanterns (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas OST)

I Love Being A Turtle (TMNT **Movie** Soundtrack [_not_ the rock song from the show])

~ (One Calm)

Shadow opened his eyes, his head facing to the right.

_Waking up seems to be the story of my life, _he mused. Shadow found himself in another hut much like the first, except this time he was propped up and lying on his back on a much more comfortable mattress. The right wall was decorated with rugs, patterns, and metallic ornate containers. Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the roof, a signal that the day was half through. Shadow turned his head to the left…

… and into a pair of brilliantly shining blue eyes. Shadow body jerked about a foot into the air, and the strangest wave of déjà vu overcame him.

Maria stared straight at Shadow, unwavering, her lips curled in an obvious pouting position. Her arms and legs were both crossed as she sat on his left side on a stool, and as Shadow reacted to her presence, she didn't react at all. Behind Maria was a partition, separating them from the rest of the room. Shadow stared back at Maria, unsure of what exactly to say.

"Uh…" Shadow began. It was all he managed to get out before Maria drew a large pillow from behind her back and repeatedly whacked Shadow in the face. "Hey! What are you… mmmph!" Shadow waved his arms and legs out from under the pillow, knowing he wasn't in any dire danger. In all honesty, he'd seen the pillow coming the moment he saw Maria. But if there was one thing he'd learned about her, it was that Maria always had a reason for what she did.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Maria breathed out between pillow whacks. After about a minute, her strength waning, Maria grabbed the pillow and forced it down on Shadow's head. "Stupid… stupid… stupid…" Shadow stopped fighting, letting his limbs go limp. After a few moments, Maria's grip began to slowly weaken, until she let go and lifted the pillow altogether. She sat back onto the stool, clutching the pillow tightly. Tears welled up in the corners of Maria's eyes. "Stupid."

Shadow sat up and dangled his legs from the side of the bed, facing Maria. She responded by sinking her head into the pillow, letting the fabric absorb the tears streaming down her face.

"They said you were going to die," Maria sobbed, her voice muffled by the pillow. "They said they couldn't do anything to help you… the doctor said that… that…" her voice trailed off to a mumble, indiscernible. Shadow reached out with his hand, then hesitated a moment before placing it on Maria's head. Maria started again, "Don't… don't leave me… please. Don't _ever_… okay?"

Her heart poured out before him, Shadow made a silent promise to himself to never leave Maria alone, and protect her… at least until they got back to the A.R.K.

"Got it." Shadow replied.

For several minutes, they sat in silence. Maria slowly felt herself calming down, and after wiping away what was left of her tears, she smile brilliantly.

"You beat my record, y'know," she mentioned.

"Your record?" Shadow asked, confused.

"It's been three days since the doctor, Tikal, announced that you were going to be okay. Which means you've been asleep a day longer than I slept after drowning!"

"Somehow, you seem too excited."

"Well, it _has_ been kind of boring with you being out of the picture," Maria sighed as she glanced at the ceiling. "The locals won't let us go anywhere but the area immediately around _you_."

Mention of the locals brought up the subject of their current situation in Shadow's mind. "What happened? I know I blacked out after I woke up near the river. Fill me in."

"First of all, you didn't black out," Maria explained. "There was a scouting party nearby sent to investigate claims of 'flying metal blocks', and as they neared us, you woke up and started screaming. They found us within a few seconds, and although the rest of the group was frozen stiff at the sight of me, you, and the Prototype, the medical assistant sent with the team immediately reacted and sedated you. None of us could understand each other, but once we figured out they weren't trying to hurt you, we followed them here."

"And where is 'here', exactly?"

"An island just off of the coast the river feeds into. Even though it's technically an island, it's really _really_ big, as big as a small country!"

"Wait, you said you couldn't understand each other," Shadow pointed out. "The doctor, though…"

"There are some people here in this village that can speak the same language as us," Maria continued. "Most can't, though. Tikal is one of the few who do."

"But how do…" Shadow was interrupted by a growling noise emanating from his stomach. "Uh…"

Maria smiled coyly. "Hungry?"

"I don't suppose you have anything to eat?"

"As a matter of fact…" Maria stood and pushed back the partition, which rolled on wheels. Behind the makeshift wall, the entire room was filled to nearly the ceiling with food, fruits, vegetables, medicines, charms, and all other manner of gifts. "…we have plenty!"

Shadow felt his mouth falling, and quickly swallowed to cover it. There was so much food, he couldn't even see the door!

"The villagers brought all this?" Shadow asked.

"Yep!" Maria confirmed. "I didn't get a chance to see who, though. It must have come from various people, because it didn't all get here at once. They were all left at the edge of our 'allowed space', probably because the villagers aren't used to giant lizards. There was a lot more, but our 'friend' helped himself to quite a bit of it."

There was something fishy about it. Shadow couldn't put his finger on it, but the generosity on the part of the locals seemed suspicious. Unless they were scared out of their minds, which Shadow reasoned was entirely possible. Jumping down from the bed, he began rummaging through the stores of food, attempting to find something his nose would agree with. He found an apple sitting in a basket on his right, and greedily bit down.

"Oh, wait! Shadow that's…" Maria tried to warn him.

An extremely bitter flavor flooded Shadows taste buds, nearly making him gag. He made a mental effort to continue chewing and swallow, to save face in front of Maria. The inside of the "apple" was dark green, extremely juicy, and slightly sour along with the bitter flavor. After swallowing the initial bite, Shadow swallowed several more times, to get rid of the taste. He glanced over at Maria, who was staring at him peculiarly.

"What?" Shadow asked.

Maria burst into a fit of laughter, falling to the ground and clutching her stomach. Shadow could feel his cheeks burning.

"It didn't taste that bad."

"Liar!" Maria managed between laughs. While Maria continued to laugh, Shadow went back to finding something edible to settle his stomach.

After a few more failed attempts at picking fruit to eat, Shadow allowed Maria to show him what was decent by their standards. Once he had eaten a mid size meal, a voice came through a window at the back of the room.

"Excuse me!" It was the voice of the female doctor from earlier, Shadow noted. "Shadow? Maria? Are you both there?"

"We're here," Shadow acknowledged, pulling back the curtain on the window. Tikal's face came into view, eyes wide. She clearly had not expected Shadow to be awake yet.

"Ah!" Tikal fumbled with her words for a second before continuing. "Since you're both awake, would you like a tour of the village?"

Shadow glanced back at Maria and nearly had to shield his eyes because her eyes were dazzling so brightly. "I don't think she'd let me refuse."

~ (Lighting Lanterns)

The group spent the rest of the day touring the village. Tikal walked in front, followed closely by Shadow, who frequently asked questions about their surroundings and the significance of buildings. At the rear, Maria rode on the Prototype's back. Her shoes had become dirty and worn, and the Prototype was happy to help since there were few things for which he could be useful.

As they walked, Shadow could feel the eyes of the villagers (the Echidna, as he had learned from Tikal) watching them. It wasn't the same as it had been on the A.R.K.; instead of looking at him with fear and distrust, their eyes were full of awe and amazement. At first, it didn't bother him. Who wouldn't be amazed at such a large creature as the Prototype? He quickly realized, though, that all the villagers' gazes were directed at _him_. These stares made him even more uncomfortable than the scientists had on the colony, and Shadow couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at the irony.

After touring most of the village, the group stopped back at their temporary home to eat. A small table at the foot of the bed seated four, though they only needed three, and the Prototype happily munched on whatever he could snake out of the front entrance using his tongue. Shadow now knew which foods he should stay away from, but was caught off guard by the Prototype, who ate everything Shadow considered tasteless. _I guess we're not exactly alike…_

During the course of their meal, Shadow continued to ask questions. Everything was new to him, and he wasted no time in absorbing whatever knowledge he could. During a period of silence in the dinner, Shadow noticed Tikal staring intensely at Maria. Maria, who hadn't noticed, continued eating until she noticed Shadow staring at Tikal, then followed his gaze. Tikal, suddenly aware of herself, looked away and continued eating.

"You look like you have something to say," Shadow said to Tikal.

"What is it?" Maria asked.

"Well…" Tikal stammered. "I don't want to be rude, but… how did you get your hair to be so straight?"

"Straight?" Maria was confused. "It's always been straight. As long as I keep it clean, it stays that way too! Why do you ask?"

"I'm jealous," Tikal admitted. "I once wondered what it would be like to have straight hair, and I asked several elderly women if it was possible. After two weeks of persistence and work, we gave up. Our own hair is just too naturally curly. It always ends up like this…" Tikal held out a clump of her dreadlocks to Maria, who grabbed a lock and examined it closer. In return, Maria offered a few strands of hair for Tikal to look at as well.

"There's something else that's been bothering me," Tikal continued to talk to Maria. Shadow felt isolated, and figured it was a girl thing. "What are you? You're not a hedgehog, like Shadow, and I'm fairly certain you're not a lizard, either." Something in her statement gave Shadow pause, and he noted it for later.

"I'm a human," Maria stated, once again caught off guard by the odd question. It suddenly occurred to her that though the creatures she was around were intelligent, and could communicate, she was the only human being within a significant distance. The revelation made her feel small and insignificant, but the feeling soon passed.

"A hue-man?" Tikal sounded out the word. "So then, you all are from different places?"

"No, not at all! We're from…" Maria began.

"Before that," Shadow interrupted, then paused for effect. "I want you to be honest with us." Tikal's surprise was all too obvious on her face, convincing Shadow that she was indeed hiding something from them.

"What are you talking about?" Maria asked.

"Small things," Shadow explained. "Things that wouldn't stand out by themselves, but are suspicious when you put them all together. The incredible amounts of food brought to us is appreciated, but seems a little too generous for this village. From what I've seen of inter-personal relations, the Echidna are respectful of one another, but don't necessarily go out of their way to help strangers.

"The stares are another thing. Anyone I know would without a doubt say that the most eye drawing feature of our group is the giant creature that stands seven times taller than your largest people. However, when we were touring earlier, nearly everyone's gaze was directed at me.

"And just now, you said that I was a hedgehog. I never told you that. I merely told you my name." Shadow leaned in closer in an effort to be intimidating. "What's _really_ going on here?"

A pregnant pause followed. Maria and Shadow looked at Tikal, who shifted her eyes nervously. "You're right," she conceded. "There _is_ a reason for all of these things. But explaining the events behind it is a long story, one that encompasses the complete history of the Echidna."

"We have time," Shadow urged.

"…Very well."

~ (I Love Being A Turtle)

"We Echidna are not originally from this island, or even this world. This island belonged to an ancient race of immortal beings known as the Chao. The Chao had evolved to a point where their existence was perfectly in tune with nature itself, constantly going through the process of birth, aging, death, and reincarnation in harmony. It has been said that the Chao shaped this island themselves, knowing what future generations would need to survive, and providing for any trial that may arise.

"At the center of the Chao way of life was the Master Emerald, an artifact of near infinite power. It has been said that this item held the key to the Chao's enlightenment, and that countless civilizations had risen and fallen on its whims.

"The Echidna, at this time, were a rudimentary race. Little more than animals, we enjoyed only small bursts of inspiration. As a whole, we were uncivilized to say the least. We were numerous, and lived in great numbers along a coast, connected to this island by a natural land bridge.

"Though our people were unaware of the Chao and vice versa, both lived in peace.

"This did not last forever, though. Evil often interferes in the affairs of the peaceful. Without warning or provocation, both peoples were attacked by an unknown foe. These invaders did not seek alliance, or conformity. They wanted the destruction of what the Chao and the Echidna had brought forth. This Black Doom annihilated anything that stood in its way, leaving only destruction in its wake."

Shadow was so engrossed in Tikal's tale, he didn't notice Maria stiffening next to him.

"Echidna who survived the initial attack fled to the only place nearby that seemed safe: Angel Island. Quickly following were the invaders, seeking to finish what they started. It was at this point that something extraordinary occurred. The Master Emerald shone brightly, and in an instant, the invaders, the bridge, and our homes completely vanished. Much later, it was determined that the Master Emerald had saved all of us by taking us away from our home entirely. This new world we found ourselves in was unexplored and untouched: a paradise.

"The powers of the Master Emerald had other, longer lasting effects as well. Echidna who were exposed its power gained extraordinary abilities. Some were able to see the power of nature, some could perform incredible athletic feats, some could speak languages never before heard, and some even gained the ability to see into the future. Our intellect and physiology underwent drastic changes, until we became the way you see us now.

"After a time, it became apparent that the abilities of those who survived the Black Doom would not extend to the next generation, and as our people grew further from the event, these abilities began to wane. A unanimous decision was made to preserve whatever we could, for the benefit of those who came after.

"Those with the ability to see, interpret, and understand the flow of nature created the first Rings. These Rings could contain a set amount of power, allowing it to be stored for later use. The smiths who designed them recorded the procedure for their creation, and since then the blueprints have been passed down, from father to son.

"Those with the ability to channel the Ancient Power honed their skills, making many leaps in medical science. It was discovered that others could use the same powers, but not to the extent of the First Echidnas. They named the ability to wield the powers of nature the Ancient Power, and passed down their medical knowledge to their students.

"Those given the gift of languages had the most difficult task; to preserve an entire language from generation to generation is difficult. To preserve more than thirty is nigh impossible. Those blessed with language arts spent the rest of their lives recording these languages and teaching them to the young. These manuscripts can still be found, sealed, in the temple at the center of the village.

"Those who could see far into the future wrote a commission, a rulebook for the Echidna to follow. Each Echidna was to be instructed in the use of the Rings, and charged with the creation, empowerment, and storage of them. To this day, our smiths still forge Rings in the manner instructed by our Ancestors. Each Echidna is given a Ring, and over the course of a few weeks is to deposit whatever energy they can spare, after which the Ring is stored away.

"The reason was this: the Clairvoyant Echidna foresaw a future where another doom would await us. If left to its own devices, this doom would bring about the end of the world. In our darkest hour, a Hero would appear wreathed in a golden light wielding the Ancient Power to save us. This Hero… would be a hedgehog."

Shadow felt his own pulse spike as three sets of eyes turned to look at him. _That's ridiculous. It's impossible to tell the future… or is it? I've barely scratched the surface of the possibilities of Chaos power. Maybe something like that could actually happen…_

"Ever since that time, the Echidna have been watching and waiting for this 'Hero' to appear. I, myself am one of the few in the village who were appointed the task of learning the languages passed down by our ancestors, which is why I am able to communicate with you. I also became an understudy as a doctor, to heal the wounded."

Tikal looked straight into Shadow's eyes. "Any way you look at it, you _have_ to be the Hero our prophecies told us about. A hedgehog with the Ancient Power? That's you, right?"

"Don't forget 'wreathed in golden light'," Maria beamed. Shadow wished he shared her enthusiasm. On one hand, he felt intrigued that a prophecy of any kind could be that accurate. It was also nice to feel needed, important even. However, he couldn't shake the voice in the back of his mind that said that even if the story was true, he was still being used to ensure a future he had no choice in.

"That's why the villagers look up to you," Tikal finished. "Everyone has pretty high expectations of you."

"That's a pretty colorful story," Shadow commented. "The Echidna seemed to make off decently. But whatever happened to the Ch…"

"I'm sorry!" Tikal interrupted. She stood up from the table and made a short bow. "I've spent too much time being idle! I didn't realize it had become this late! I'm afraid I have to take my leave, now. Good night!" Without another word, Tikal rushed out of the front door fast enough to kick up dust. Shadow followed her with his eyes as she retreated into the crowd of Echidna outside the perimeter of their lodging.

_Did she just…?_

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whaaaaaaat? What is this "doom" the Hero is supposed to avoid? Why did Maria act so suspicious? Will our heroes ever get back home? What was Shadow about to ask Tikal? Is Shadow really the Hero? Or is there another…?

Remember that reviews fuel my need to finish this Fanfic. I'd hurry before MW3 comes out, if I were you.


	14. Here and There

Tikal quietly slipped into the Chieftain's chambers after leaving Shadow and Maria. Though the sun had long set, and most of the villagers were finishing up their duties to return home, the Chieftain continued to pore over the documents covering his desk. His guards apparently elsewhere, Tikal watched her father work in silence. Not normally noticeable, the soft light of the torches revealed the effects of time that slowly crept upon him. Wrinkles covered his face, and his beard was rugged.

After a time, he spoke without looking up. "Are you going to greet your father?"

"My apologies," Tikal replied. "I did not want to disturb your work."

"Your presence is never a disturbance," the Chief corrected as he stood. "But the sentiment is appreciated." He walked over to the throne at the back of the room. Instead of sitting down, he pulled two small wooden chairs from behind it and set them in the middle of the room. "Come, sit for awhile so we can talk."

Without hesitation, Tikal approached and sat in a chair opposite her father. The Chieftain sat down second, not forgetting his manners. For as long as Tikal could remember, her father had always strived to make time for her, so that the two of them could talk about whatever troubled them. It allowed Tikal to draw on her father's experience, while also providing the Chieftain a cautionary ear in matters involving the well being of the tribe. He'd always been a good and loving father… it was his leadership skills that Tikal worried about.

"So…" the Chieftain began. "What have you learned about our visitors?"

"Not very much, to be honest. I took the group for a small tour today, and spent the entire day answering a never ending barrage of questions! They are a curious bunch. Maria is what they call a 'hue-man', a race I've never heard of before. The lizard, too, must be a new race, because although he doesn't speak, he can think for himself and asks questions through Shadow, as if they can read each other's mind! Maria has the smoothest hair I've ever felt, and she says it's _natural_! Oh, and-"

"What about where they come from?" the Chieftain interrupted.

Tikal fell silent. "These people are much smarter than you're giving them credit for, father. Shadow, especially."

"What do you mean," he asked, perplexed, before widening his eyes. "What did you tell them?"

"Shadow knew instinctively that I was hiding something from him. He asked about the legend."

Tikal's father leaned back in his chair and sighed. "And you told him."

"He deserves to know. I know that you plan on keeping him here; he should at least know why."

"Or he'll try to use it as leverage," the Chieftain explained. "We need to find out where he came from quickly, so that-"

"So that you can add more territory to your domain?" Tikal let slip with a bite in her voice.

Her father's true nature as a ruler was no secret to Tikal. Until recently, the Echidna tribes had been spread out, still functioning as separate clans from as far back as the Exodus from their homeland. Believing his purpose was to unite the clans, the Chieftain forcefully conquered the other groups of Echidnas, bringing them all under one banner. Although his excuses could be reasoned as justifiable, Tikal knew her father had become power hungry, and that his only objective was to increase that influence as much as he possibly could. In her heart, Tikal would never be able to forgive him for the pointless power struggle that resulted in the deaths of innocent people, and the banishment of her mother and her tribe.

"So that I can determine whether he is the one we've been waiting for!" the Chieftain shot back. "The Hero that will save our people, and reclaim the Master Emerald!"

"You can't reclaim something that never belonged to you, father." Tikal spoke quietly, knowing her words would fall on deaf ears. "If he is the Hero… what will you do?"

Tikal's father rose from his seat, and walked over to a window near the entrance, looking onward at the peak of the mountain at the island's center. "I will help him fulfill his purpose."

"You can't _do_ that!" Tikal could no longer hold back her words. "The Chao are a peaceful race! They've never done anything to harm you, or anyone else!"

"You doubt the words of our ancestors?" The Chieftain inquired, turning to face her.

Tikal chose her next words carefully, thinking for a moment before she spoke. "I do not doubt the prophecies of our ancestors, father. I merely doubt your interpretation."

"We shall see," the Chieftain walked behind Tikal and grabbed her chair, a signal that their time for talking was over. She stood, allowing her father to return the chairs to their storage. As she walked out, Tikal let loose a brief sigh and spoke a small prayer of protection, for her father, her people, the Chao, and the visitors.

The Chieftain watched his daughter exit before mumbling to himself. "Shadow _will_ help us… or he will suffer the consequences."

* * *

"_Achoo-!"_ Shadow sneezed.

"Someone must be talking about you," Maria said with a smile.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Shadow rubbed his head.

"It doesn't?"

"I'd feel better with some Acetaminophen," he continued. "My head is starting to hurt again."

* * *

The next day, Tikal walked though the village, heading towards the hut with the Visitors. Though to everyone she seemed calm and collected, in reality her mind was frustrated and fraught with worry.

_I need to find out more about Shadow today, no exceptions. Maybe if I show I'm not completely against him, my father will listen to some reason… I can't let myself get distracted for even a second! _As she neared the hut, Tikal could clearly see the mass of flesh belonging to the Prototype. He was lying on his side, his underbelly facing inwards towards the hut and with his tough, leathery skin facing outward. As Tikal approached, he lifted his head and nodded in recognition and approval, sliding his tail away to allow entry.

_Say, Shadow, where are you from? No, that's too direct… Does anything here remind you of home? Yes, that's better. What's your family like? Could you teach me some techniques for healing? Good, good…_ Tikal went though several mock conversations as she prepared to enter the front door. Breathing deep, she raised her hand to knock on the door…

…and went straight through as Maria opened the door from the other side. Caught off balance, Tikal fell forward into Maria, knocking both of them to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Maria!" Tikal crawled back on all fours off of Maria. "I didn't… mean to…" her next words were forgotten as she observed Maria. She was wearing a new outfit, one made by the village's women and extended to suit her height. Her hair was a mess, a tangle of unkempt bed hair and half-attempted braids. The look was so out-of-norm for Maria that Tikal found herself laughing before she could think better of it.

Maria's face flushed a deep red, and she smiled sheepishly. "I don't suppose you could teach me how to braid hair?"

"If the alternative is watching you walk around looking like _that_, I don't think I have a choice!"

"What's all the noise?" Shadow came into view, his spikes and fur skewed to the left side of his body.

Tikal and Maria looked at Shadow, then back to each other before continuing to laugh. Shadow raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused.

"Apparently," Tikal answered, "everyone's having a bad hair day. Let me fix you two up!"

An hour later, the three were sitting around the table again. Tikal sat behind Maria, braiding her hair while Shadow followed Tikal's instructions on making hair solvents. The table was covered with exotic fruits, various dead insects, and fine powders from plants. The ingredients formed a paste that Tikal applied directly to Maria's scalp, which, according to Tikal, would relax her hair and hydrate her roots.

After a few minutes of silent work, Maria spoke up. "I almost feel… too comfortable. I can't believe we've already been here over a week. A week…" Saying the words out loud put the situation into perspective all at once. "I miss home," Maria finished.

Tikal was abruptly reminded of her objective, and how easily she'd been sidetracked. She decided to venture a question.

"What's home like, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Did your father tell you to ask us that?" Shadow reversed the question.

"Shadow!" Maria spoke over him sternly.

"She doesn't have to tell me," Shadow unapologetically continued. "I already know the answer. Your father is dangerous, Tikal, and you know it. You shouldn't go along with it if you know he's wrong. You should sta-"

Shadow was cut off by Maria grabbing him by his nose and yanking hard. "There are things you _can_ say, and there are things you _can't_ say, Shadow!" Maria had his horn in a vice grip. Clearly not having expected to have his nose crushed, Shadow gasped for air through his mouth.

"So… you knew…" Maria and Shadow looked over at Tikal, who had tears streaming down her face. "Both of you knew, the whole time…" Mindful of herself, she promptly wiped away the few drops from her face and managed a smile. "I don't know why I expected anything different; I've always been a bad actor. You should have seen me in my childhood plays…"

Tikal was silent for a moment before she stood and composed herself. "I'm sorry for disturbing the two - um… three of you. I'll take my leave."

As soon as she turned her back on them, Shadow called out. "Stop." Tikal froze in place. "Sit, now." Tikal hesitated, then returned to her seat at the table. She stared down, steeling herself for the looks of betrayal and hatred she was sure to receive.

"We come from another world, one very similar to this one. It's called 'Earth'." Shadow began. Tikal looked up, shocked. "In orbit high in the sky above Earth is a haven for scientists to study and create, named Space Colony ARK. It is where Maria was born, and I was created.

"Wait, why are you telling _me _this?" Tikal blurted out, flustered. "I just admitted to… lying… and following my father's schemes!"

Maria whipped her hand forward with near superhuman speed and grabbed Tikal's nose, causing her to breathe deeply through her mouth as Shadow had moments earlier. "Because you're our friend, silly!"

_Friend?_... Tikal could feel tears welling up behind her eyes, and shut them to hide it. "Right, how silly of me!" she said lightheartedly.

"Get comfortable; our story is just as long as yours." Shadow warned.

* * *

A full hour later, Tikal sat with Shadow and Maria, awed by their story. A floating city, a being created for perfection, and a terrible accident… all of it was fantastical, but lingered in her mind like a half forgotten dream, leaving only a vague sense of familiarity.

"My powers, as incredible as they are, are not perfect." Shadow explained. "I'll need to vent my power soon, or a similar event to last time may occur. I need a way to store my power for future use, if need be."

"Why not use rings?" Tikal suggested. "We could always use help filling our empty rings; we have more than we can afford to store efficiently."

Shadow thought it over before giving a nod. The further he could stay from another catastrophe like last time, the better. The rings wouldn't work forever, but they might do the trick in the meantime.

"And at the same time we try to keep Shadow in check…" Maria added. "we still need to find a way home. Sooner rather than later, if we can."

"You don't know how true that is," Shadow pointed out.

Confused, Maria tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"We don't know how long we've been here. In relation to Earth, I mean."

"You've been here a week." Tikal stated, also confused by Shadow's declaration. Shadow opened his mouth to explain before stopping short.

_I need a better way to explain this,_ he thought to himself. After staring at the two girls from across the table, Shadow had an idea. He walked over to a bucket of water in the corner, and brought it over to the table, positioning it on the shelf behind Tikal. "Maria, whose hair would you say is longer? Yours or Tikal's?"

"Well, mine, right?" Maria held her hair up to Tikal's for comparison. "See, my hair's about a whole foot and a half longer."

"Oh?" Shadow feigned surprise. "Tikal, would you do me a favor and sit back?" Tikal agreed, and Shadow dipped a lock of her hair into the water. Drawing from his well of power quite easily, Shadow heated the water in the bucket until it began steaming. Careful not to burn Tikal, he sifted his fingers through her hair, probing into hard to reach spaces with tendrils of power, unknotting and untwisting the tangled mess of hair. After about thirty seconds, and satisfied with his work, Shadow withdrew her hair from the water.

Tikal's lock of orange hair had gone from a complex dreadlock maze to perfectly straight, well groomed hair in no time at all.

"Now who's is longer?" Shadow asked. After comparing again, Maria was astonished to find that Tikal's hair was actually four inches longer than hers!

Shadow held up a strand of each of their hairs. "These hairs are the flow of time in each of our different worlds. Although they run parallel, they don't necessarily share the same path. Tikal's hair, or one week of Angel Island Time, is represented by this one strand. Just a moment ago, though, this strand was twisted and curled, and only went down to her shoulders. Maria's hair represents one week of Earth Time, and is straight.

"Even though we've already experienced a week here on Angel Island, it may have only been a few hours, or even a few seconds in our time. The reverse could also be true, where we've already been gone hundreds of years. It all depends on where the 'wrinkles in time' are. If we want to get back to where we started, we need to find a way home fast. Otherwise…"

Silence descended as the weight of Shadow's words fell on Tikal. _These two may never get to go home… at least, not to a home they recognize._ She could feel her guilt from earlier compounding inside her chest, and mentally kicked herself for being so inconsiderate of how much Shadow and Maria must want to return home.

"Well, no good's going to come from worrying about it!" Maria broke the silence. "I'm more interested in your inner hairstylist, Shadow."

"My… my what?" Shadow stammered, dumbfounded.

"Look at Tikal's hair! This is amazing!" Maria exclaimed as she held up Tikal's straightened hair. "She told us herself that she spent two weeks trying to uncurl her hair, and you did it in thirty seconds!" Tikal, as well, had to admit that she was impressed, and was secretly extremely pleased at the prospect of having a head of straightened hair.

"Now… do the rest of it." Maria continued.

"I must have used up too much of my power," Shadow lied through his teeth. "I'm feeling tired all of a sudden. I think I'll go lay…"

With a speed that made Tikal do a double take, Maria grabbed Shadow's ear as he tried to ease his way past her to the bed. "Not a chance, Mr. Stylist. You're going to finish what you started."

Shadow sighed briefly, then sat down behind Tikal and got to work.

* * *

On Space Colony ARK, Professor Gerald Robotnik descended with a security detail to the bottom of the hole in the station via a make shift lift. Only forty-five minutes prior, the entire Chaos Laboratory had ceased to exist, along with any backups and the experiments themselves. Although it was a significant loss, the experiments were the furthest thing from Gerald's mind.

_Where is my granddaughter? Where is Shadow?_

Security teams had already confirmed that both Shadow and Maria had been within the radius of the phenomenon via security camera footage, and although no one else was suspected to be in the area, the security team was currently doing full head counts of all staff and personnel. Gerald didn't care about anyone else, though. The two most important things in his life were gone, and his top priority now was to find out exactly what happened.

Upon reaching the bottom of the spherical wound in the colony, the professor immediately noticed several things that were off. The lack of residue was uncanny. Although the edges where the station disappeared were scorched black, there was no ash, dust, or rubble.

_Mass cannot be created or destroyed… if the laboratory didn't get burned to ashes, where did it go? _A light chirp from his radio communicator interrupted his thoughts. Gerald quickly answered it.

"Robotnik."

"Grandfather!" a young voice came over the radio.

"Ivan? What is it? I thought I asked you to…"

"I know; that's what I'm calling about. You asked me to check and see if any of the other scientist's projects could cause an event like this, possibly if combined with the experiment's power."

"Did you find anything?"

"No. Well… yes. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"You know Professor Graham? He's working on a project to monitor exotic particles created by particle accelerators."

"Yes, I know _of_ him," Gerald ran through his memory. "He requisitioned the particle accelerator that runs along the outside of the colony, correct?"

"Graham just happened to be running a simulation when the event happened. He managed to record a significant spike in foreign and known exotic particles, the prominent of which were… p-branes!"

Gerald breathed in sharply, not wanting to fool himself into a false sense of hope, but also still overjoyed at the possibility the discovery of exotic particles presented.

"So in other words…" the Professor summarized, "they may not be dead. They may be…"

"In a parallel dimension," Ivan finished.


	15. The Vault

"Welcome to the Vault," Tikal announced. It was later in the day, past noon, when Shadow finally finished straightening Tikal's hair. The four decided to take the opportunity to visit where the village's Rings were created, hopefully providing an outlet for Shadow's rapidly increasing power.

The Vault, as it was called by the natives, was a cavern built into the eastern cliffside of the the valley the village was located in. A large gate built from tree trunks formed the entrance, and a few guards stood watch in front of it.

The Prototype, who would undoubtedly not be able to fit inside, opted to stay at the gate and enjoy the scenery. Having spent his life inside the laboratory on the colony, the Prototype found interest in the smallest of things in nature, and had no problem with waiting for the others to finish up inside the Vault.

Maria decided to remain outside as well, in the company of the Prototype, half because she wasn't too fond of dark places, half because of the uneasy stares of the guards when they learned the "Great Lizard" would be in their care.

"Shall we go?" Tikal asked Shadow, waving her hand towards the Vault's entrance. Shadow nodded, and together they entered and descended down into the depths of the Vault.

* * *

Just past the gate to the Vault, the ground sloped down steeply, leading into a flight of stairs that took Tikal and Shadow beneath the village itself. The path was lighted by torches along the sides, and upon closer inspection, Shadow found they weren't actually lit by fire. The torches were actually Rings that had been set up to continuously discharge their energy as light!

"It's wasteful to burn wood whenever we need light," Tikal explained. "We don't have many uses for the Rings, so our stock continues to increase despite using them for light. It's one thing about the Legend that has me confused, to be honest. The reason the Echidna make and fill the Rings with power is because the Hero mentioned in the Legend has need for them. However, you require no Rings, and instead need them as a reservoir for your power."

"What are you really trying to say, then?" Shadow inquired.

"I… don't think you're the one we're waiting for."

"You don't think I am? Or is it that you don't _want_ me to be the one you're waiting for?"

Tikal paused, then looked Shadow in the eye. "Both," she whispered.

* * *

At the bottom of the flight of stairs, the ground leveled out and the tunnel gave way to a small room with three entrances, the first of course being the one behind them. The other two were on the left and right sides of a table set up on the opposite side of the room. Behind the table was an aged Echidna, poring over stacks of papers.

The Echidna looked up from the stack of papers on his desk, and his eyes widened in surprise. He quickly regained his composure and greeted them.

"Greetings, Tikal," he started. "And you must be Shadow, the Hedgehog, correct?"

"You can speak my language?" Shadow asked, intrigued.

"Shadow, this is Uden," Tikal introduced. "He is the one who taught _me_ the languages, and he works here at the Vault as a record keeper."

"It's a horrendously boring job, I just keep track of who has what, and for how long. I was hoping to have passed the job on to another by now, but Tikal decided she wanted work in the medical field! You should mind your elders!"

"And you should appreciate the dreams of your students, Uden," Tikal answered.

"Bah…" Uden settled down and looked back at his paperwork. "So, are you picking up or dropping off?"

"Neither. I would like to take Shadow to storage area for empty Rings."

"So, you're picking up?" the elder asked again, confused.

"Not exactly. It might be better if you come with us, so we can explain on the way."

"Beats sitting in a chair all day."

* * *

By the time they reached the storage area for empty Rings, Uden had been fully briefed on the situation. Suddenly glad that he'd come along, Uden was eager to see just how much power Shadow could store in the Rings.

The room was massive, about the size of the entire restricted Chaos Laboratory that the Professor had been working in. Square wooden boxes about waist height were placed from wall to wall, and completely filled with dull, golden rings. From there, the boxes stacked upwards with surprising efficiency. This particular room was stacked twelve boxes high, only two box stacks from the ceiling.

Shadow rubbed his forehead. The pain was mild, but he didn't want to take any chances. He decided to empty as much power as he could without killing himself. He glanced over at Tikal, who nodded, signaling him to go ahead. Uden stood behind them both, observing quietly.

Shadow walked over to the nearest box and picked up a Ring, observing it. Without any power in them, Shadow could see the Ring for what it was: a circlet of metal, with minute etchings twisting in a complex pattern across the inside, and completely smooth on the outside. An incredible amount of handcraft had gone into making these Ring correctly, and Shadow found himself appreciating the Echidna's attention to detail.

Focusing on his power came easily now, almost automatically, and within a second or so, Shadow had filled the Ring to it's maximum capacity. It now shone brightly in his hand, casting light that extended over to Tikal and Uden.

"That's incredible!" Uden exclaimed. "It normally takes us a month just to completely fill a Ring, and you did it in a second! Very impressive!"

"It's not enough," Shadow murmured.

"What?" Uden asked, "If you still have more power, just grab another Ring. Don't worry, we have plenty."

"No, I mean…" Shadow explained. "…you don't have enough Rings."

He placed his hands on both sides of the box, closed his eyes, and transferred his power. Within seconds, the entire box was shining like gold in the sun. From there, the energy arced to the boxes adjacent to Shadow, filling them with power as well. Then another. Then another.

Forty-five seconds later, Uden sank to his knees in disbelief. Every Ring in the Storage area had been filled to maximum capacity, and the room was so bright that he had to shield his eyes. Tikal's mouth hung open in awe, as she was just as shocked as Uden.

Shadow's eyes opened, and stood up straight from the box he'd been leaning over. He walked past the two Echidna into the Ring-lit tunnel behind them. Tikal collected herself and hurried to follow.

"Shadow! That was amazing! Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

Glancing back at her over his shoulder, Shadow answered.

"My head still hurts."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know some of y'all are pissed that I took so long to put up a new chapter, but some things have been happening that I have no control over. For those of you who haven't read my profile recently, my PC's hard drive shit itself, which means all my stories, half written chapters, story outlines, music, everything, pretty much is gone. So, understandably, it's taken me a while to draw out from my brain everything that got erased.

Please be patient, and I will do my best to continue updating in a timely manner.

As for the previous chapter, I want to rant, since I haven't for awhile:

"Parallel Universe" and "Parallel Dimension" are NOT the same thing. For example, if you were looking at the "heads" side of a coin, a Parallel Dimension would be the opposite side, or "tails" side, of that coin. A Parallel Universe would be another coin altogether. Shadow and Maria are still technically on Earth, on a Universal scale, but the length, width, height, and time dimensions they are experiencing are different from our own.

This story is definitely one I want to finish, since it has received such good feedback and since I actually have the story all mapped out. Reviews are very much appreciated!


	16. The Itch

"So… please explain to me again where we are going?" Tikal's voice sounded from atop the Prototype. Shadow was walking in the front , leading the way. Maria and Tikal were sitting on the Prototype's back, who was following Shadow. They were walking through the forest, to the west of the village.

"We're going back to the ship that brought us here." Shadow explained for the fourth time. "It may give us some clues about how to get home, ore at the very least help me burn off a decent portion of my power. Electrical equipment requires massive amounts of Chaos energy: a perfect outlet."

"Did I tell you my father won't be happy about us leaving?" Tikal asked.

"Yes," Shadow answered, then added under his breath: "several times now."

"Well, he will not be happy," she restated.

"Yes." Shadow acknowledged. "I know."

* * *

"What do you mean they left the village?" The chieftain shouted, outraged. Four Echidna guards stood before the Chieftain in his chamber. Tikal and the outsider had left the village, and the guards had let them leave.

"They said the had your permission, Chieftain," one Echidna stepped forward. "The blame is mine for not verifying their story."

"Get out," the Chieftain directed. All four Echidna left at once, leaving the steaming old warrior to his own devices.

Word about Shadow's deed at the Vault had spread like wildfire throughout the village, and Tikal's father had meant to take the opportunity to formerly invite Shadow as an honorary member of the Echidna clan. Once bound by law, he would have to carry out orders from the Chieftain.

_I need his power to ensure we can take the Master Emerald! If Tikal calls for his help to stop us, he definitely will. I need him on my side!_

The Chieftain slumped on his throne. _If he returns, I will make him join… if he doesn't, I will take the Master Emerald all the same._

* * *

Shadow's group neared the shore of the mainland, riding on the Prototype's back yet again to cross the water. The sun was going down, and it was already becoming difficult to see in the twilight.

"Sorry for making you carry us all the time," Maria apologized to the amiable lizard. The Prototype purred in response, which caught Tikal by surprise.

"I'm sorry, I did not think reptiles could purr…" she explained.

"They don't," Shadow said, from the base of the Prototype's back. "But then again, hedgehogs and echidnas don't walk and talk, either."

The Prototype walked up onto the shore, making his way inland. The sun was hidden by the mountains, now, and darkness steadily descended. The Prototype's eyes, however, adjusted quickly in the dark, and he continued to walk them tower their destination. Shadow, who'd been unconscious during his transport from the pod to the island, deferred to the Prototype's judgement on which direction to go.

"Do you suppose that means that we are special?" Tikal asked.

"It means we're mistakes. Not meant to be, yet we are."

"No," Maria corrected. "It means you were created with a purpose in mind."

"Things that are created for an intended purpose don't have wills of their own," Shadow argued. Otherwise, how could the makers be sure they fulfill their purpose?"

"Creators are smart that way," Maria deflected.

"Maybe the creator the creation free will because they want their creations to do what they say because they trust their makers?" Tikal suggested, slightly confusing herself.

"Or both of you are wrong, and the old man is just misguided," Shadow finished.

* * *

A short while later, Maria eased her way down the Prototype's spine, closer to Shadow, who still sat near the base of his back, staring back at the island.

"Do you miss it already?" Maria asked.

"No," he answered. "I want to go there."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Maria asked, puzzled.

"No," Shadow replied. "It's been bothering me for awhile, now, but _something_ is drawing me back towards Angel Island. It's not me. If I let my mind or gaze wander, I end up staring at the Island again. Maybe I didn't notice it before because I was actually on the Island, but I feel… like I need to go there. In that direction. I think."

"Maybe you just consider it more of a home than you thought," she surmised.

After a moment's pause, Shadow responded. "I don't have a home."

Maria eased up behind Shadow, wrapping her arms around his chest and drawing him close. "I knew you'd say that. Why don't you stop being so pessimistic, and trust me?"

"I do," Shadow leaned back into her hug.

"Then you have home, don't you?"

"Where?" Shadow asked.

"Here, with me. I'll be your home."

Shadow let a small smile cross his lips. "People can't be homes… that doesn't make any sense."

"And there you go again…" Maria sighed.


	17. An Old Friend

(Recommended listening: Will Save You by Sagisu Shirou, from the first BLEACH movie OST)

The Prototype had been walking for quite awhile, carrying the group towards the pod. The light from the sun was completely gone now, and the journey continued in silence. Tikal sat near the base of the prototype's neck, while Shadow and Maria sat further back.

Tikal decided to let them have their alone time. She envied Maria, a little, in that she had someone that close, that she could rely on no matter what. That privilege used to belong to her father when she was younger, but… when he began to change, it was her mother that she'd turned to for help. Now, her mother was gone… banished with her clan to another plane, another world beyond their own.

_Maria and Shadow came from another world… my mother was banished to another world… the Echidnas were brought here from another world… what does this all mean? _Tikal curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest. _It may be easy for Shadow to write it off as a coincidence, but I, for one, can not. There must be a purpose to this, a reason… _

The rhythmic rocking of the Prototype's steps halted, and Tikal sat up. "What is wrong?" she whispered to him. The lizard's neck extend downward, and then lifted back up, twisting around to reveal what was in it's mouth.

A rather large, spiked creature wriggled free from the Prototype's mouth and landed in front of Tikal. It stared at her for a moment with beady eyes, while Tikal, who'd never seen such a creature before, called back to the others. "Shadow?"

"How did you manage to find me?" Shadow spoke from behind Tikal. He had already moved up in her direction to find out why they'd stopped moving. The sight that awaited him was not what he'd expected.

The overgrown hedgehog smirked and pointed at his head, attempting to indicate his brainpower. Maria walked up behind Shadow, and noticed the hedgehog in front of Tikal.

"Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed. "Fred! Look how big you've gotten!"

Excited to see another familiar face, the hedgehog stood up on it's hind legs and hopped over Tikal to get to Maria, much to everyone's surprise. Fred the hedgehog had nearly doubled in size since the last time Shadow had seen him, and his ability to walk on his hind legs was impressive, to say the least.

Fred hugged Maria's leg, burying his face into the dress the Echidnas made for her.

"You two know each other?" Shadow asked.

"I should be asking _you_ that!" Maria retorted, apparently not the least bit worried about Fred's size change. "He was one of the animals in Grandfather's laboratory. I know all the animals that he works with! If it weren't for me, actually, Grandfather would probably have forgotten to feed half of them. How do _you _know Fred?"

"We've… met before," Shadow responded flatly.

"Yes, well, did you know he's your father?"

"Uh… what?" was all Shadow could think of to respond.

"The Chaos pathways in your anatomy are based off of this guy right here!" Maria stooped down and lugged Fred off of the Prototype's back, offering him to Shadow to hold.

"Right. Well, that doesn't mean I have to hold him." Shadow said, stepping backwards. Maria pursed her lips and put Fred back on the Prototype's back.

"Wait," Tikal interjected. "So… this hedgehog can use the Ancient Power? Like you?"

"Can he? Yes, technically. Does he know how?" Shadow glanced at the hedgehog, who was licking himself like a cat. "Probably not."

The Prototype growled, and motioned forward with it's head. Shadow could just make out the silhouette of the escape capsule in the starlight. The pieces started falling together in his head, like a puzzle.

"He was waiting for us," Shadow guessed. "He knew we'd be back, and he waited here for us."

"Waiting?" Tikal furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

Fred stopped licking himself, then stood up on his hind legs again. He opened his mouth, making vocalizations. It sounded to Shadow like he was in pain or something. Fred closed his mouth and shook his head, not satisfied with himself. He tried again.

"Elpu… elpu."

"Elpu?" Shadow asked, confused.

"No," Tikal corrected. "It just sounds like that because he is not used to speaking. It's an accent! We have to learn about pronunciation when we learn the Languages, and I remember having the same problem!"

"So… what's he saying?" Maria asked.

"Help," Tikal answered.

* * *

Author's Note: What's up with Fred's sudden growth? And ability to speak? And reasoning skills? Is he still a hedgehog? Or is he something more...?


	18. Humble Beginnings

After another two hours of walking and climbing, the group of four… plus one… arrived at the circular piece of the Space Colony A.R.K. that Shadow severed. The sphere was huge, much more impressive in person than when Maria and Shadow had first seen it when they arrived. Half of the chunk was hanging off the edge of a cliff, suspended up and away from the capsule, hundreds of feet below.

"Wow," Maria commented. "You must've _really_ done a number on the Colony. I hope you didn't de-pressurize anything."

"Noted," Shadow replied.

"The real question is, what is here that Fred needs help with?" Tikal asked.

Fred lept into action, leading the way into one of the several larger open passageways exposed from the outside. The rest followed closely behind, with the Prototype bringing up the rear. The entrance was being encroached by dirt, grass, weeds and vines. The interior was completely dark, as the artificial light for emergencies had likely given out ages ago. After a only a week, the forest was trying to reclaim what the Colony had taken from it.

"I can't see anything," Maria complained. "Somebody's going to hurt themselves if we keep walking like this."

A strong red light appeared a second later, stemming from Shadow's right hand. Red tendrils wafted around his fingers. Maria compared it to watching a Lava lamp. Fred, who was stopped a few feet ahead, turned and continued down the hall.

Maria began to recognize certain areas of the ship. "This is the lower mess deck… we never ended up using it, since the others were more than enough to feed everyone. I'm glad no one was down here…"

"Who's to say there wasn't," Shadow responded stoically. "There could've been dozens of people caught in the event that brought us here. They could be wandering around these forests. Waiting."

"Stop!" Maria cried, "You're creeping me out!"

Shadow smiled inwardly. _All too easy._

"And stop laughing at me," She added, her psychic deduction powers seeing right through his straight face.

The passageway soon split into several smaller passageways, and the Protoype began to find difficulty in squeezing his way through. The three two-legged companions exchanged glances. They wouldn't be able to go much further if the path got any narrower. Not seeming to notice (or care), Fred took the passage on the far right. Soon, Fred's passage led them to a hallway of familiar looking cages…

"What… is this place?" Tikal whispered. The poly cages lined the sides of the hallway, extending down the passage, and through dozens of floors, as Shadow knew. Some cages lay broken and empty, long abandoned by their occupants, while others still retained their wards, entrapping the animals within. Fred stood and pointed at the cages.

"This is what he wanted help with?" Maria asked.

"We've been here for a week," Shadow pointed out. "How have these animals not starved yet?"

Maria smiled, then inspected one of the empty cages. With her right hand, she reached inside and spun a treadmill in the corner. A slight humming could be heard, and several pellets of food dropped from the top of the cage to the bottom.

"Grandfather took my advice," she beamed. "I was always worried about what would happen to these guys if something happened to me, so I came up with the idea to allow the experiments to feed themselves using the treadmills in the cages in the event power was lost. I had no idea he actually did it, though!"

"So, as long as they can operate the wheel, they will always have food?" Tikal asked.

"Yes," Shadow responded. "Until the food runs out, at least."

Fred led the group to a computer display at the end of the hall, and pressed a small button at the bottom of the screen. The screen lit up, showing a diagram of the food reserves still available. According to the graph, the food was nearly gone.

"When the food runs out, the animals in the cages won't be able to feed themselves…" Shadow stated. "They'll starve if we don't get them out."

"This must be what he wanted help with!" Tikal beamed, glad that they'd figured out the mystery.

"But we don't have the keys to the cages," Maria pointed out. "How are we going to get them out?"

"Like this," Shadow snapped his fingers. Red sparks shot out from his fingers, disintegrating every lock in the hall at once. The animals inside wasted no time leaving their enclosures in a mass exodus, heading for the entrance to the forest. A few animals, older than the others, stayed behind.

"What are they waiting for?" Tikal asked.

"Everyone else," Maria answered. "Theres more than forty floors of cages just like this one. These guys must have friends they're concerned about." She turned to face Shadow. "So, lets get to work!"

"Do we have to free _all_ of them right _now_?" Shadow sighed.

Maria grabbed Shadow's ear and twisted it a full 360 degrees. "What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing," Shadow responded.


	19. Dimensional Dilemma

After a good hour's worth of work, all the animals that had been trapped in their cages were free. Fred left with the others, bringing the group's number back down to four. Shadow, Maria, Tikal, and the Prototype now stood in the main research room, where on the far side of the room they could see a large rectangular hole that led straight outside, where the Prototype's cage had once been. Though it was still dark out, the stars shone clearly in the night sky.

"Alright, lets see what we've got," Shadow removed a fuse panel on the wall, inspecting for any damage. Everything seemed intact. "Now… where's the power source?" He dug into his power, releasing a minute amount into the panel. Shadow could sense the path his power took, winding though wiring and all maker of circuitry. His eyes followed the sensation to a locked sliding door near the elevator shaft.

"What are you doing?" Tikal inquired, completely lost. The structure of the A.R.K. had captivated her. She'd never seen such advanced technology.

"He's looking for a place to power the lab from," Maria explained. "Everything in here is powered by an energy called 'electricity', and Shadow's trying to imitate it using Chaos power. If it works, we may get a clue from Grandfather's work on how to get home."

"Found it," he announced. A small generator was behind the sliding door. Shadow pulled out the power cables from the generator end and applied his Chaos power to the inlet. Hums and whirs could be heard throughout the lab as lights, consoles, screens, and displays came online. Maria wasted no time in stepping onto the main podium, accessing the main database.

"So, what am I looking for, exactly?" Maria asked Shadow. Although she knew what they needed, she hadn't the slightest idea of where to look for it.

"Anything that might be able to help us get home," Shadow generalized. Maria shot him a look, and Shadow shrugged. "I'm just as in the dark as you are. Try running a general search for 'dimension', 'rift', and 'time' together, then separately if nothing comes up."

Maria typed the prompts into the search bar and hit ENTER. The page instantly refreshed, showing only one search result on the screen.

"One result," Maria announced. "It's a reference to a future project. It looks like Grandfather was planning on designing a device to travel between dimensions!"

"That is perfect!" Tikal blurted. "It is exactly what you two were looking for, right?"

"Yes," Shadow let slip slowly. "But it's listed as a future project. Chances are, there's no blueprints or hardware to back it up."

"Shadow's right," Maria countenance fell as she read the details. "The project was indefinitely scrapped due to lack of resources and technological advances. The production date has been pushed back ten years, and development of observation equipment was delegated to Professor Graham. There's nothing here… not even a thesis or a guiding principle."

The Prototype groaned, and Shadow sympathized. Shadow was smart, but he was no scientist. Even if he did have blueprints, there was no way he'd be able to recreate the Professor's projects. This database was the last straw, their last shot at finding a way home.

"What is that?" Tikal asked. She was standing behind Maria at the holo-screen, watching her actions over her shoulder. Tikal reached past her and pointed to a symbol in the upper right of the screen. It was a pole with waves coming out of it, like a radio tower, and it was flashing rapidly.

"It's a wireless signal receiver," Maria explained. "It allows you to access information without using cables to connect computers."

"Why is it flashing?" She asked further. Shadow and the Prototype raised their heads, interested. Maria opened her mouth, then furrowed her brow. The symbol was indeed pulsing, as if trying to grab the attention of anyone who happened to look near it. Unable to provide a surefire response, she tapped on the beacon to see what would happen.

The image of the beacon expanded to cover the entire screen, and moments later faded to an image of Professor Gerald Robotnik. Sound immediately started playing, but it was garbled and low pitched. The Professor's movements matched the soundtrack, his hands moving ever so slowly as he stroked his mustache.

"Shadow?" Maria called.

"Record the message, quick!" He'd already noticed the video playing, and the scene made sense to him. "The Professor is trying to send us a message, but we can't understand it because of the time difference. If you can record it, we can play it back later!"

* * *

_"Shadow, Maria…" _the Professor's aged voice spoke._ "I hope this message reaches you. I've poured over every bit of information I could regarding the events in the lab, and I have come to the conclusion that you two have been transported to another dimension, due to a lack of foresight on my part._

_"I am communicating with you now using an extremely early prototype of a dimension bridge that I made in secret. Truthfully, the technology to bring you back won't exist for another five years. It hasn't been invented, and even I would require significant time to make it a reality."_

_"I'm afraid that any hope you have of returning home is with Shadow. It may be possible for him to recreate the conditions that started this event, and bring you back. Furthermore, there may be a way to do it without overloading Shadow's Chaos reserves._

_"Professor Graham's results show that your current dimensional location is the same one as the reason I made this technology in the first place. There is a power there that can provide the energy you'd need to return home, and that will one day be required to save our planet!"_

A young voice from off screen interrupted the Professor's explanation. _"Grandfather, the device is causing a power spike! This isn't going to last much longer!"_

_"Listen very closely," _Gerald continued, a hurried panic in his voice. _"You must retrieve the Emer-zzztttt."_

* * *

The screen went dark, cutting off the transmission. From across the room, Maria and Shadow's eyes locked. Their eyes communicated what they were both thinking without a single word being spoken. There was hope. It was slight, almost nonexistent, but it was there. They could go home.

Their moment was broken by a dull thud as Tikal's limp body hit the floor.

* * *

Author's Note: Can Shadow find a way for our heroes to go home? What power was Gerald talking about? What's wrong with Tikal? Find out the answer to these questions and more... TBC!

Another chapter is currently in the works, and is nearly complete. However, I won't have web access for another 4 weeks or so. Please, be patient and stay tuned for more!


	20. Misgivings

_Tikal's thoughts were cloudy. She'd just had the strangest dream. In it, she'd been talking with her father about something important. In the middle of the conversation though, he'd transformed into a dark and terrible monster. Desperately attempting to escape the monster, she'd run into Shadow and Maria. No sooner had she explained the situation when they, too, transformed into monsters. Before she knew it, Tikal was surrounded by everyone she loved, and all had become bloodthirsty beasts._

* * *

Distant voices roused Tikal from her deep sleep. She recognized them as they grew louder. Maria and Shadow…

_That's right, _she recalled. _They received a message from their world, and in it… there's no mistaking it. Their "Professor" is after the Emerald. Just like father. _Tikal opened her eyes to the worried face of Maria Robotnik. Her face radiated the moment her eyes opened, and she called out to Shadow.

"She's awake! Are you all right, Tikal?" Maria asked. Tikal felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She was going to have to lie again, but it couldn't be helped. She thought she could trust these people, but… they were after power, just like everyone else.

"Yes," the lie slipped out easily. Much more easily than they had before."I am fine, I just felt lightheaded for a moment."

"Are you sure?" Maria asked again, genuinely concerned. It hadn't seemed like she'd been lightheaded for just a moment. It looked like she passed out. "Can you sit up? I guess you must be exhausted. We _have_ been up all day, and it's pretty late."

"Yes, thank you," Tikal sat up and looked around. The Prototype stood alongside the wall, quietly observing. On the main screen, Professor Gerald's face was frozen in place. Shadow was still by the generator, powering the laboratory. His eyes were fixed on Tikal, though. As their eyes met, Tikal knew that he knew something was wrong. The moment passed though, and Shadow went back to monitoring the generator without saying anything.

"Let's watch that video one more time," Maria piped up. "We might find out some clues about what we need to do next."

"I agree," Shadow's voice came from across the room. Tikal took a deep breath, letting it out in a slow sigh.

_Calm down, _she told herself. _Don't think about it. At least… not for now._

* * *

"Okay, so what do we know now?" Maria asked. They had just gone over the recorded message ten times, slowing down and re-listening to whatever seemed useful. The group was now outside the Colony fragment, in a makeshift camp Shadow and the Prototype managed to set up.

"One," Shadow held up a finger. "The Professor was working on technology to transport between dimensions."

"Two," Tikal continued. "Not only was he intending to travel between dimensions, he was planning to come here specifically. To Mobius."

"Three," Maria followed. "It sounds like my cousin is on the Space Colony. I've never met him, and Grandfather never told me he was planning to visit either. From what I've heard, he's incredibly smart for his age, and the scientific community has high hopes for him."

"Four," Shadow crossed his arms. "Provided I can figure out how I got us here in the first place, there's a power source on Mobius that can get us home. Judging from the video's distortion, our time here is traveling faster than Earth's. Time is one thing we don't have to worry about. For now."

"In addition to that," Tikal added. "the way the Professor said it made it sound like that power source may have been his reason for wanting to visit Mobius in the first place."

"And last, but certainly not least," Maria finished. "The name of the power he was looking for. The part that got cut off."

"That hardly seems important," Shadow dismissed. "The Professor's never been to this world. Even if he knew there was a power source here, he wouldn't know what it was called. More than likely, it's a name he assigned to it himself. A name that isn't helpful at all in finding it."

_That's true, _Tikal agreed silently. _Wait a minute… but he _did _have the name right! But that doesn't make any sense!_

"Tikal, have you ever heard of something like this before?" Maria asked. "Something with the power to take us home?"

Tikal opened her mouth, ready to deny anything and everything. She couldn't let them find out about it, at any cost. Shadow butted in before she could say anything, though.

"Of course she has. She already told us about it."

Tikal snapped her mouth shut. _I did? When?_

"The story you told us about when Angel Island first came to this world. I think you called it the Master Emerald, right?"

Tikal's heart sank. He was right, she _did_ already tell them about it. _Shadow probably decided to remember it when I told him because of it's ability to transfer things between worlds. I made a careless mistake._ She straightened up. _I can still fix this, though. I have to!_

"Yes, the Master Emerald is what transported us to this place centuries ago… but that legend is just that. A legend. Our tribe is very superstitious, so many things that have been passed down over the years have been accepted as history. There are some, though, who think that story is entirely untrue."

"Wait a minute, though," Maria pointed out. "Look at all the evidence, though! The Rings, the languages learned, the Prophecy… and what about Shadow? Your people predicted him arriving here!"

"Every story, no matter how far-fetched, is embedded with some grain of truth," Shadow sided with Maria. "If this Master Emerald exists, we need to find it's location."

"The location?" Tikal lied through her teeth. "No one knows the location, and anyone who did has been dead for years and years. I am afraid you are on a fool's quest."

"I wonder," Shadow muttered sarcastically. "Whatever the case, we can figure out what to do next tomorrow. We all need some rest. Tikal, especially."

* * *

Maria sat awake, staring at the moon. The embers of the fire were dying slowly, and the horizon was beginning to brighten as the sun prepared to grace the morning sky. She heard footsteps behind her, and she turned to see Shadow approaching.

"Couldn't sleep, I take it?" Shadow reasoned. Maria nodded.

"I can't stop thinking about those animals…" Maria sighed. "They're in a completely new environment, away from what they know best. Most have never had to survive in the wild… I wonder if they'll be all right?"

"They're a lot smarter than you're giving them credit for," he responded. Seeing that her mood wasn't getting any lighter, Shadow reached forward and took her hand. "Here, follow me."

Hand in hand, Shadow led Maria away from the camp, straight south. They moved easily through the dense foliage, due to Shadow's abilities. Reaching out with his power, he made obstacles unfurl and roll out of the way, like a shield in front of his body. Soon, the pair could hear a distant sound of rustling and shuffling. It sounded like wind passing through leaves, except that it only came from one area, and was far too frequent.

Shadow guided Maria behind a sizable tree, and lifted a palm branch out of the way, making room for her to see. Spread out in front of them, a small clearing had been torn out of the forest. In it, dozens of groups of animals were hard at work, tying long leaves and branches together to make rope, lining up sticks to bind, and expanding the clearing even further. The separate pieces quickly coalesced as makeshift shelters, temporary protection from the elements.

All the animals, regardless of species, pitched in to help. Maria could only gape in astonishment at the efficiency of the little ones.

"Oh my…" she held a hand to her mouth. "I guess I was worried for nothing, huh? They seem to be doing just fine!"

"I _did_ tell you," Shadow reminded her.

"Yes, but, how did _you_ know about this?" Maria asked, puzzled. Shadow remained silent, and Maria finally got it. "You were worried about them too, weren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shadow dismissed as he walked back towards the camp.

"Riiight," Maria acquiesced.


	21. Mobius Rings

The day was still young as the group made their way back to the Echidna Village. They were in the small stretch of ocean between the mainland and Angel Island, being ferried once again by Shadow's Prototype. Maria and Tikal sat at the base of his neck, while Shadow sat further back, holding one of Tikal's medical Rings.

Shadow was experimenting. Ring in one hand, he slowly filled and drained it of Chaos energy again and again, careful not to fully absorb it. He traced the power along the inner etchings of the Ring, investigating it's secrets.

The minute details of the etchings were remarkable, to say the least, an intricate matrix of twisting and crossing lines. As complex as it seemed, Shadow knew there was something more to be found; he just had to look hard enough. After three hours of study, he was beginning to see it.

There was a pattern associated with the markings. To the untrained eye they looked like a jumbled mess, but the more Shadow stared at it, the clearer and more obvious the pattern became. The lines swelled and shrank in width as one traced along the length of the Ring, the pattern repeating itself until the Ring made one full rotation, where it stopped abruptly. A short distance later, the pattern started again, where it started; one full rotation.

Shadow allowed his power to spill over into the Ring, filling it. He traced his power as it flowed, observing the power traveling along the etchings to their designated endpoints. When the Chaos energy reached an endpoint, it began storing the energy in that one specific spot. Whatever was left continued on the the next endpoint. When the Ring ran out of endpoints and was full to the brim, Shadow could not send any more power into it, despite his numerous efforts to do so. He figured it was likely a built in safeguard, to prevent accidents.

What interested Shadow the most were the points where the lines overlapped. When power passed through these areas, instead of filling normally and continuing to other areas, the amount of Chaos energy in these specific spots was double the amount in the lines before and after it.

_In other words, the lines can hold more power than they are allowed to, _Shadow surmised. _This is likely another safeguard built in to the Rings, to prevent an unintentional power build up._

A second, equally as interesting fact presented itself as Shadow relinquished his flow of power into the Ring. The only parts of the Ring that actually stored Chaos energy were the _endpoints_ of the etchings. In the instant Shadow released his power, the energy flowing through the lines leading to the endpoints withdrew to his hand, leaving the lines themselves void of power.

_Yet another safeguard, _Shadow thought to himself as he ran his fingers along the inside of the Ring. _It makes sense. If the endpoints storing Chaos energy stayed connected all the time, the smallest defect or fluctuation in the stored energy could cause it to destabilize and destroy the Ring. The Echidnas who made these were either incredibly intelligent, or went through a few mishaps when they were designing them. Probably both._

A slight pang at the bridge of his nose caused Shadow to wince. His headaches were returning. There wasn't going to be much time before he and Maria were in the same situation they were before. There had to be a way to solve his power storage problems.

_I know the pattern and I understand the basics, _Shadow weighed his decision in his head. _If I can join the end of the Ring's etchings to the beginning, I may be able to loop my power through it in a never ending circle. It may not be a permanent fix, but it may help me displace some Chaos energy to avoid a disaster like last time._

* * *

Tikal breathed in deeply, basking in the sunlight. Maria indulged herself as well, letting the rays warm her while she let her feet cool in the water below. They were over halfway to Angel Island, and neither of them had heard a peep from Shadow since they'd started crossing the water.

Maria glanced back in Shadow's direction. Tikal followed her stare and saw Shadow at the rear, his back turned towards them. Maria tightened her lips and exchanged looks with Tikal, who understood how she felt. They weren't worried, but… it was still suspicious, and both were curious.

"I'll check on him," Tikal whispered. Maria smiled and nodded once in gratitude. Tikal smiled back as she stood to approach Shadow. Inwardly, she enjoyed the fact that she and Maria could exchange so much information with just their eyes and expressions. It wasn't something she was used to doing with her peers in the village, and she'd picked up on it quickly when the visitors arrived. _Is this what having a close friend is like?_

Halfway between Maria and Shadow, Tikal stopped in her tracks along the lizards leathery back, her last train of thought derailing her until then steady heart. She clutched at her heart as she stopped to gather her breath; a sharp, stinging pain had just pierced straight through it, leaving her confused and winded. After a few moments, the feeling passed. She turned to see if Maria had noticed, and was relieved to see that she was facing forward, still sunbathing without a care in the world.

_That… actually hurt,_ Tikal stood still, disbelieving. She put one foot in front of the other, attempting to ignore what just happened. She knew what it was that had caused the pain, Tikal just couldn't understand why she'd had it, and didn't want to trust it. _These two… I cannot let myself forget that these two are after the Master Emerald. I will not!_

Despite her denial and the emotional mask she wore on her face to cover it, Tikal could not help but notice the lingering aches in her chest that sprouted from the pain of deceiving someone she considered her true friend. The pain of her own guilt.

* * *

Shadow held up the newly modified Ring to the light. Using his own power, he'd chiseled new lines into the empty Ring, connecting the end and beginning. If his theory was right, this method could buy him some time in finding a solution to his own overload problem. Soft footsteps behind him made Shadow glance back towards the front of the Prototype.

"Shadow, are you all right?" Tikal questioned. "You have been awfully quiet all day. Is something wrong?"

"Tikal," Shadow acknowledged. "You're just in time. I was about to try out something."

"Try out what, exactly?" Tikal inquired.

"I need a way to solve my power limit problem, and I think I just figured out a way. I've manipulated the Ring's pattern, and I'm trying it out now." Shadow began filling the Ring with power as he finished his explanation.

"You did what?!" Tikal exclaimed. "No, do not-" Her sentence was cut off as the Ring in Shadow's hand exploded with a loud bang, disintegrating the Ring and sending Shadow soaring through the air.

Tikal didn't have time to think, only to react. In the split second before Shadow reached her, Tikal shrugged off her instincts to duck and braced herself, opening her arms to catch him. The force of the blast launched Shadow into her chest, catapulting them both over Maria and the Prototype's head, and into the water.

As with the pool on the A.R.K., Shadow instantly began to sink like a rock. Tikal, unaware of his inability to swim, kept her arms locked around him, futilely kicking her legs to raise them to the surface. After a few seconds, the water pressure building around her ears alerted her to the fact that they were still dropping.

After his mind recovered from the initial shock of the Ring exploding, Shadow found himself sinking in the ocean, Tikal holding him tightly from behind.

_I'm sinking, _Shadow quickly realized. _Tikal's going to get herself killed if she keeps holding on to me._ With a strength much greater than hers, Shadow grabbed Tikal's arms and wrenched them from around his waist before pushing her up and away from him.

At first, Tikal struggled, trying desperately to find Shadow again and haul him to the surface. He was sinking faster than she could pursue him, though.

* * *

Maria watched the surface of the water, worried. The Prototype had stopped swimming forward, and burrowed his head beneath the waves, looking and waiting for any sign of the hedgehog or echidna.

The Prototype made a groaning noise and lifted his head from the water. In his mouth, Tikal, wet and coughing, rose from the ocean.

"Tikal!" Maria took her from the lizard's jaws and cradled her on his back. "Are you all right? What in the world happened? Where's Shadow?"

"He pushed… he pushed me away!" Tikal gasped for air as she explained. "I tried to swim with him, but he pushed me up to the surface! Why did he do that?"

Maria knew exactly why. "His body is much denser than yours. He doesn't float. He pushed you away so you wouldn't get dragged down with him."

The echidna continued breathing, processing Maria's explanation. "So… what? What now? What do we do? How do we get him out?"

"I… I don't… know," Maria stammered. "Shadow will just keep sinking… we can't swim down that far."

The Prototype growled again, arresting both of their attentions. About ten feet to the right, the ocean water was bubbling furiously. Sea foam and froth began to form as the water continued to broil. A dark form appeared from beneath the waves, and slowly, Shadow began to emerge from the water. First his head, then his torso and arms swiftly followed, until he was literally standing on top of the water.

Maria, Tikal, and the Prototype looked on in amazement as Shadow took several awkward, unbalanced steps toward them. Sufficiently close, he crouched, then leaped onto the Prototype's back, landing expertly on his feet like an agile cat.

Turning to face everyone, Shadow maintained a stoic expression as he observed the others, all three staring with mouths wide open.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

* * *

"Hot water rises," Shadow explained. "If you can make the water hot fast enough, the increased flow carries you upward, provided you don't burn yourself with the superheated vapor."

"So you can walk on water?" Maria asked, thoroughly mystified by Shadow's abilities. Every time he used them, she learned something new. There seemed to be no limit to the practical applications of Chaos energy.

"Provided the water isn't already close to boiling, I can release energy from my feet to keep myself above water."

"All you had to say was 'yes', Shadow," she sighed with a smile on her face, one full of wonder and awe. "I wonder if you could use that same kind of process to walk on air…"

"Not likely," he responded. "Air is a lot less dense than water, not to mention it doesn't transfer heat very well."

"I am more concerned with what you were doing with that Ring," Tikal butted in. "You could have seriously injured yourself! Why did you not ask me about making modifications?"

"I didn't think you knew anything about it. According to you, the Echidnas have been making Rings the exact same way for hundreds of years."

"For good reason, obviously!" Tikal scolded. "Changes to the set blueprints only leads to accidents, injuries, and in the worst cases death." She paused before adding another blurb. "A good friend of mine was a Smithing apprentice… he passed away because there were no doctors skilled enough to treat him."

_So that's why she decided to become a doctor, _Shadow realized. _It explains a lot about her, mainly that she hates losing people she cares about._ The realization that he and Maria were likely part of that select group made him fidget. He sat in thought for a moment, then bowed his head in respect. "My apologies," he accepted her reprisal, bowing in a way he'd seen other Echidnas bow when expressing a sincere apology.

Tikal noticed his gesture and chuckled, her frustration momentarily forgotten. "Do not worry about it, it is over now." She made a mental note to help Shadow with his portrayal of Echidna customs later, to keep him from embarrassing himself. Her mind drifted back to the Ring. "What changes were you trying to make? You said it might help your… problem."

"I completed the loop," Shadow explained. "Connecting the beginning of the etchings to the end was simple, and I followed the same pattern that was on the rest of the Ring. Honestly, I don't know what went wrong… it _should_ have worked."

Maria tilted her head. She couldn't even begin to pretend like she understood what Shadow was talking about. It all sounded like gibberish and super science to her. She glanced over at Tikal, who's eyes were wide and bright.

"You wanted to make a Mobius Ring!" something had clicked inside her head, and Tikal was so excited, it was infectious.

"What's a Mobius Ring?" Maria asked. "That's the name of this world, right?"

"It is a special type of Ring," Tikal hopped on the balls of her feet as she talked. "Only a handful were ever made, and their purpose was not exactly clear, so they were handled irresponsibly for the longest time. They do not store energy like a normal Ring does. Their sole purpose is to loop energy through the windings of the Ring as many times as the user can afford to."

"Only a handful were made?" Shadow inquired. "Aren't there blueprints for them?"

She shook her head furiously, a large grin on her face, her excitement still obvious. "Not for these Rings. Eventually we did find a use for them, though. Training in the use of medical arts. The challenge was to see how many times someone could loop energy through the Ring, and then how long they could maintain it afterwards. When the person was finished, or exhausted, all the energy put into the Ring returned to the user, since it is unable to store power on it's own."

"I see," Shadow nodded. "It's a great practical way to teach advanced control of your Chaos energy output, without needing to worry about wasting energy. Tikal, a tool like that is exactly what I've been looking for. How many of these Mobius Rings are there?"

Her countenance fell instantly, and Shadow got the distinct feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"Two," she responded, expression cold. "All the others have either been lost or damaged. One belongs to the Chieftain, my father. The other belongs to the Village as a whole." Tikal looked Shadow directly in the eye. "To use either one, you will need my father's permission."

"Somehow, I doubt he'll let me use them for free," Shadow read her train of thought.

"No, he will likely require you to join the Echidna Clan in order to use them."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Maria jumped into the conversation. "Being a part of the clan is bound to have a few perks, right?"

"There are strings attached," Tikal continued. "The most significant of which being that once you are a member of our clan, you are honor bound by our laws. Anything our Chieftain tells you to do, you must do. No exceptions."

"It looks like we need to have a talk with the Chief then," Shadow stated.

* * *

Author's Note: Another chapter arrives, my friends. Do these Mobius Rings work like Shadow expects them to? Will he be able to successfully procure one from the tyrannical Chieftain? Can Tikal protect the Master Emerald from her Village? Her father? Her new friends? And most importantly, _how will Shadow and crew find their way home?!_

Just to confirm some suspicions that have been floating in the reviews, and to inform those of you who haven't figured it out, the group of animals that managed to escape from the A.R.K.'s Chaos Laboratory **are**, in fact, the ancestors of all the present day characters everyone knows and loves, including Fred and his trademark smirk. I will likely not touch on the subject of the small animals again, so I wanted to let everyone know before I forgot about it later.


	22. The Challenge

The Chieftain sat on his throne, observing the scene before him. The main double doors to the Chieftain's Hall were wide open, and a host of guards were escorting Shadow, Maria, and Tikal into the room. The Prototype, of course, was too large to fit in the chamber, so he waited outside, surrounded by no less than a dozen armed guards.

As he sat, the Chieftain tapped his foot. Not in impatience, or frustration, but in well managed anger. His daughter had lied to the village guards, allowing Shadow and his company to leave. With Shadow, the Hero of the Legend present, the Master Emerald was finally within his reach. However, his own daughter seemed to set on doing whatever was necessary to prevent that prophecy from coming to bear.

Still daylight outside, several high windows near the roof allowed sunshine to pour into the hall. The entourage made their way halfway into the room before stopping, awaiting acknowledgement from the Chieftain.

"Soldiers, at ease," he called out. The guards around the group stood at attention, then took their designated places around the hall. Three guards stayed, positioned behind Shadow, Tikal, and Maria. Tikal whispered to the others, translating what the Chieftain said. Shadow spoke clearly back, and she relayed his statement.

"It's good that we are finally meeting face to face. I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Be silent," the Chieftain ordered. "You have betrayed the trust of our clan be leaving without permission, and by taking my only daughter with you."

"I wasn't told that we weren't allowed to leave the village," Shadow countered. "Is there some reason we're not allow to leave?"

"Only for your own protection."

"I can protect myself, and the people close to me," Shadow looked back at Maria and Tikal.

"That is not for you decide!" the Chieftain roared, his cool finally breaking. His face was contorted in a snarl, and he nearly rose from his seat in anger. After taking a moment to calm himself, he continued. "Where did you go?"

"Away."

"Answer me, or the next place you go will be our incarceration chamber."

"My business is my own," Shadow defended. "and I would be grateful if you would respect that."

The Chieftain shook his head and waved his hand. "Take them away." The guards positioned behind the trio made their move, grabbing each of them by the arm. Shadow shot a glare at the guard who grabbed his arm, and the guard instantly let go, momentarily startled.

"We're not done talking," Shadow directed toward the Chieftain, then looked back at the rather muscled guard handling Maria. "And if you put your hands on her again, you'll have _me_ to deal with." Tikal quickly translated for Shadow, doing her best to relay the information respectfully. The guard behind Maria scoffed, releasing his grip on her arm and crossing his own, taking on a posture that seemed to mock Shadow. Some of the other guards laughed as well, as if they knew something he didn't.

"We have nothing left to discuss," the Chieftain interrupted and dismissed. "You have no right to be heard in this hall. Short of you submitting yourself to becoming a member of _my_ clan, we have nothing left to talk about."

"Convenient, because that's exactly what I wanted to talk about."

The Chieftain leaned forward in his seat, amused and very interested. "You would join the Echidna Clan? Are you aware of the repercussions?"

"I am," Shadow replied. "And though I'm not happy with them, I require the use of one of your Mobius Rings."

_Ah…_ the Chieftain thought to himself. _So that's what this is about. Saves me the trouble of forcing him to join. This works out very well for me… I'll accept his request, and have him under my thumb._

"I welcome you into our ranks," the Chieftain broke out in a grin. "Come forward, all of you."

The trio and their escorts approached the throne, Shadow in the lead, with Tikal a step behind and Maria trailing in the back. Shadow stopped at the foot of the throne, and the Chieftain stepped down and extended his arm. The black hedgehog took a knee and extended his own right arm, clasping it around the Chieftain's.

"Blood, strength, and loyalty. These three traits are recognized above all others in the Echidna Clan. Though not born of our families, and not yet proven in battle, you have pledged your loyalty to the people of the village, and to follow the orders of it's leader. Do you understand this responsibility?"

"I do," Shadow responded.

"Do you accept it?"

"I do."

Reaching down with his left hand, the Chieftain grabbed Shadow's shoulder, the raised him to his feet. He motioned to a guard standing ready at the side, and the guard brought forward a small, ornate box. Opening it, the Chieftain took out two white gloves.

"These gloves are a symbol of recognition by the Echidnas. Wear them proudly, and accept your place in our clan."

A few of the soldiers pointed and laughed quietly amongst themselves. Tikal explained "Your hands do not have spikes like the male Echidnas. They are making fun of your 'girl hands'."

Shadow ignored the jests. He took the gloves and slipped them onto his hands, stretching them. The texture was odd, different from the clothes the villagers were wearing. Tikal had explained to him prior to returning to the village that the gloves were durable, and enabled the use of Rings without needing to take them off.

"Welcome to the clan, Shadow," the Chieftain returned to his seat on the throne, a mischievous grin still plastered on his face.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," Shadow nodded briefly. "And as a member of the Echidna Clan, I'd like my first act to be challenging you for your leadership."

The grin on the Chieftain's face vanished, and Shadow could almost visibly see the blood drain from his face.

* * *

_Earlier…_

"You're going to _what_?" Maria's jaw dropped, dumbfounded.

"This is the best solution," Tikal explained. "It is a by-law written into Echidna law. Any member of the clan may directly challenge the current Chieftain for leadership, provided he has not decreed beforehand that a challenge is unlawful, and the challenger has backing from a prestigious group or sponsor. As of now, my father has not discarded the law, and as the lead medical physician, language expert, and the Chieftain's own daughter, I have the positional authority to support Shadow."

"So I just need to challenge him before he makes it impossible," Shadow tapped his foot on the ground. "This is a pretty big risk on your part, Tikal. You're about to go against your own father. And more importantly, you'll be backing me instead of him. Are you okay with that?"

Tikal sighed and let her shoulders droop. "No, I am not… but if I decide to do nothing, you will only suffer more pain. I trust you, Shadow." She tried her best not to flinch as a sharp pang twisted her stomach and pierced her heart. If she really trusted him, why couldn't she tell him the whole truth, even now?

She and her father both knew the location of the Master Emerald, and it was a power that both Shadow and her father wanted possession of. If Shadow challenged the Chieftain before the order to capture the Master Emerald was given, the location of the shrine would remain hidden from Shadow and her father would be unable to act with impunity. It was a good plan… for her.

_I must stop my father, no matter the cost… but is it really okay to hide this from Shadow and Maria? They are… my friends. What am I expecting them to do once they find out? Would they really turn on me? I… I don't know…_

"How is the winner of a Challenge determined?" Shadow inquired.

"Every challenge is decided the same way," Tikal explained. "Through one-on-one combat."

"That's not fair, though," Maria pointed out. "Your father is old. How could he even begin to try to win?"

"He will likely delegate the fight to his right hand man, Kane. Kane is the most battle seasoned and physically capable warrior in our tribe. He will probably also forbid you from using your unique powers to aid you during the fight."

"How strong is this guy, Kane?" Shadow asked.

"Once, a few days prior to your arrival, in a show of power, Kane opened the village's main gates with his bare hands in the space of thirty seconds."

"By 'Main Gates', do you mean the fifty feet tall, ten feet thick stone wall gates we went through when we left?" Maria's voice raised an octave, showing her extreme surprise and disbelief. "Shadow, you can't fight someone like that!"

"I can beat him," Shadow assured her. "I _will_ beat him."

* * *

Initially rendered speechless by the audacity of Shadow's challenge, the Chieftain recovered swiftly. "Your challenge holds no water. You have no one to-"

"I support Shadow's challenge for leadership!" Tikal stepped forward. A vein on her father's aged face visibly jumped out from his head. His eyes widened as he realized that she must have told Shadow about the right of challenge. "To make the challenge fair, Shadow will forfeit the use of his Ancient Power by using the village Mobius Ring. As a member of the clan, he may now use it at his own discretion."

"So… be it," The Chieftain growled through his gritted teeth. "To make the challenge _fair_, I will delegate my match to Kane, Chief Warrior of the Echidna clan!"

"I accept your terms," Shadow immediately responded.

The Chieftain's lip twitched. "You think you can win against Kane, a soldier with the strength of a hundred warriors? He has taken down regiments of rival tribes numbering seventy strong with his bare hands! No Echidna has ever bested him in a match!"

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm a hedgehog," Shadow shot back.

Furious beyond words, and unable to stand the impudence of his daughter and her friends, the Chieftain wave to his guards.

"Take them away!" he ordered. "_Now_!"

The muscle bound Echidna from before stepped forward, reaching for Maria's arm. Shadow pivoted on left leg before hopping just slightly off the ground, yanking his left foot and transferring the momentum up his leg, across his spine, though his arm and into his right fist. He made no effort to hold back his strength; he'd given the soldier fair warning, and the Echidna had ignored it.

Shadow's right fist connected with the right side of the Echidna's jaw, making an audible crunching noise. The force of the haymaker caused both he and the soldier to seemingly float in the air momentarily before the soldier's body rocketed like a rag doll towards the wall behind him. The force of the Echidna's boy hitting the wall made the entire room rumble, and when the dust cleared, a distinctive imprint of the soldiers body could be seen where he made impact.

Everyone in the hall froze stiff at the sight of the scene that unfolded in front of them. A rasp escaped the throat of the Chieftain, who'd tried to say something, but found his voice unwilling. Tikal was the first to jump into action, running over to the fallen body to check his condition.

"He is all right," she reported. "he has only been knocked unconscious, and there are no broken bones."

Shadow took the opportunity to speak up. "We can see ourselves out, if you don't mind, sir."

Still unable to form a proper sentence, the chieftain could only look on as the trio hurriedly exited the hall.

* * *

"Was that necessary?" Maria spoke as the trio, now with the Prototype, made their way back to their hut.

"No one in that hall was taking us seriously, and even the Chieftain was mocking us," Shadow justified. "A little show of power goes a long way. Plus, I _did_ warn him."

"Even so, this will not bode well," Tikal said worriedly. "Especially when word of this goes around the village."

"Why?" Shadow asked. "Because you're worried Kane is going to do something about it?"

"No," Tikal answered. "Because the soldier you knocked out cold _is_ Kane."

* * *

Author's Note: Found out that Tikal's father actually has a recognized name, but since I've already started the story without using one, I'm going to keep it that way. His name is Pachacamac, and he took over the Knuckles Clan when his mother (Tikal's grandmother) passed away. I'm writing this story to infer that Tikal's mother was a member of the Nocturnus Clan, from Sonic Chronicles. Going against her husband's wishes, he banished her along with her clan. For more info on Nocturnus, use a Wiki or play the game yourself! n.n


	23. Politics

Shadow stood at the far edge of the village, at the back of the valley it rested within. Before him, a steeply rising slope gave way to a sheer cliff, beyond which a forest of trees ran up to the island's main mountain, looming in the distance. He scanned the sight, looking for anything out of place. Something was off… he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Shadow!" a familiar voice brought Shadow back to himself. He turned to see Tikal approaching from behind him. "Maria told me you were way out here… what are you doing?"

"Following… something," Shadow answered when she came close. "I'm even more aware of it now. I never noticed it before we left the island, but since we left… I've felt something drawing me here. Well… more specifically, over there." Shadow pointed towards the mountain scape in front of him.

"Drawing you?" Tikal frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Like… like a magnet," Shadow described. "Do you know what that is?"

Tikal shook her head. Her brow was furrowed, and her posture was fidgety. Shadow took note of it immediately. It was one of her tells, one way he'd been able to discern whether she was telling the truth, or when she was uncomfortable with a topic.

"Sometimes, special metals, usually iron, can develop a special property. Without getting too confusing for you, the metal can stick together without being glued or tied together. They just… come together." Shadow clapped his hands together as a demonstration. "That's what it's like."

"I am not sure I understand," Tikal dismissed. "Maybe I am just not that smart. Anyways, I brought the Mobius Ring for you to try out. Are you interested?"

"Of course," Shadow replied.

The Echidna reached into the bag strapped around her waist, and pulled out a dull, golden ring. Shadow took it, and inspected it. The pattern for the lines had no beginning, and no end. It wrapped around the entire outside of the ring, then before running into itself, switched sides and ran along the inside of the ring. After making one full rotation, it switched again to the outside, where it met the first set of lines.

"Two rotations…" he observed. "It really _is_ a Mobius Ring."

"Of course it is," Tikal responded. "Did you think it would be fake?"

"No, it's…" Shadow paused, not really wanting to explain something else Tikal probably wouldn't understand. He decided to make it as simple as possible. "This pattern. Going around twice on a single path. On Earth, we call it a Mobius Ring. It's odd that your Ring and our mathematical concept have the same name, and that your Ring actually _has_ a Mobius Ring."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Never mind," Shadow rubbed his head in frustration. His headaches were more profound now, and were beginning to creep up on him even faster than they had the first time. Getting his hands on this ring was good timing.

"This Ring works the same as the others," she explained. "Only, you must continually add power to it in order to maintain the loop. Otherwise, the power becomes unstable and all the energy stored inside will return to your body. For us, it is not a bad thing. For you, it could be trouble."

"Right."

"If you do not mind," Tikal placed her hands on the Ring as well, opposite Shadow's. "I would like to monitor this. People who are adept with the ancient power keep track of how many rotations they can make, and for how long. It's something of a contest amongst us."

"What's the current record?" he asked.

"Three hundred and seventeen cycles, over a period of four days," Tikal smiled briefly. "My record."

"No offense," Shadow warned. "But I'm about to blow that record out of the water."

"I would not expect anything less from you," she puffed out her chest with pride.

"Why?" he inquired, slightly offended. "Do you expect it because I'm mentioned in some legend your ancestors handed down? Because I'm supposed to save your people?"

"No," Tikal shook her head. "I expect it because you are Shadow, the Hedgehog. Whether on purpose or by accident, failure is not something you seem to associate yourself with. Being here, in the situation you are in, and not losing hope, even for a second? Finding a way around every obstacle that presents itself?"

"Luck."

"You do not believe in luck, Shadow," she corrected. "Now, hurry up and break my record."

* * *

"So, how's Shadow?" Maria asked. Tikal had entered their hut after meeting with Shadow, to spend some time with Maria. She didn't feel like going home yet, especially since she knew her father would be waiting for her there.

"I lost count of his cycles at well over one million," Tikal sat in a chair, her eyes distant. "I still can't believe that much power can reside in one being…"

"He mastered it then?" the eager young girl asked. "The Mobius Ring"

"Hm? Oh, not at all." Tikal smiled to herself. "He needs to work on his control. The second he was done unloading his power, he stopped filling the Ring by accident, and the loop fell apart."

Maria's countenance fell, disappointed. Shadow was always so good at everything. It seems he couldn't figure out the Ring, though.

"Do not worry about him," the orange Echidna laughed when she saw Maria's expression. "Your friend is stubborn, surprisingly so. He is still practicing, even now. I wouldn't be surprised if he was in perfect control by tomorrow."

"He _is_ pretty stubborn, huh?" Maria's expression softened. "There's a lot more to him than just that, though."

"Shadow is the most intelligent and strong willed person I have met in my life." Tikal put Maria's feelings into words. "Knowing him has given me courage to stand up to my father, something I may never have done on my own. He did not do that by being a hero to my people, Shadow and you did that by being yourselves."

"Me?" the blonde tilted her head quizzically. "I haven't done anything!"

"If Shadow is the most intelligent person I have met, you are the wisest," Tikal explained. "You are so quick to show how much all my worries are pointless, and you suggest points of view I never dreamed of. You keep me rooted."

"You're giving me too much credit."

"And you are being too modest."

"Well, that's what friends are for, right?" Maria beamed.

Tikal's lungs stopped working for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat. That pain was coming back… her guilt. She needed to leave. Now.

"Is something wrong, Tikal" Maria asked. "You look pale… you know, under your fur."

"I suddenly do not feel well…" Tikal lied. "I think I will head home early today, if you don't mind."

"Are you sure? You know your father's going to be waiting for you, right?"

"It is okay, I will be fine. Really," Tikal stood and stumbled to the door, opening it and stepping outside. "Thank you for your company, Maria."

* * *

By the time Tikal reached her home, the pain in her chest had subsided. The sun was setting, casting a cool light on the valley. A gust of wind made a tingle go up her spine as she ascended the steps to the home of her late grandmother's house.

Inside, standing in the center of the living area, was her father. She wasn't surprised. She knew he'd be here, to question her, her motives, and her loyalty. Tikal was ready.

"Daughter," he acknowledged.

"Father," Tikal replied as she stepped past him to the dining area.

She began to prepare herself a meal from what she'd left in the house a few days ago. Her father entered the room behind her, hovering behind her like a shadow. He didn't say anything more, he just followed her.

"Father," Tikal addressed after a few minutes. "If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, I am trying to concentrate of cooking."

"All right, why have you betrayed me?" he struck at the heart of the matter.

"I never betrayed you father, I am the same daughter you have always had. You are the one who has betrayed me. And mother. And yourself."

"I have done nothing but follow the teachings of our ancestors, as all echidna before me have. You, on the other hand, jump at the chance to ally yourself with outsiders instead of your family!"

"Those _outsiders_ have been more of a family to me than you ever have!" Tikal raised her voice to her father, while turning and discarding her food preparation. In a corner of her head, her mind reminded her that her actions were rude, but her heart remained strong, steadfast in it's resolution. "Moreover, what Shadow and Maria are doing is _right_. They knew to avoid you the moment they learned of you, with no influence from me."

"So what?" the Chieftain dismissed.

"They are not the only ones. You have been disconnected from your people too long, father. The people in this village don't follow your orders because they respect you, or think you are correct. They follow you because they are _afraid_ of you! That you will kill them if they oppose you, like you did to you own _wife_!"

"I am trying to gain power to protect our people! To protect _us_! To protect _you_!"

"You are trying to gain power at any cost! And no matter what the reasons, there are some lines that _must not be crossed!_ What good is power if you lose yourself, and the people you care for?"

"If I have power, no one will be lost!"

"But I'm losing you already!" Tikal choked back tears. "Father, I am not opposing you because I want to see you fail. I just do not want to lose the father I love!"

The Chieftain fell silent. Tikal leaned back against the counter behind her, hoping, praying that her words would reach him. She wanted her father back, the one who raised her.

"Tomorrow, the contest _will_ happen, and you will be the judge," The Chieftain spoke after a moment. "Kain will fight Shadow in combat, and Kane will win."

"Kain will never beat Shadow," Tikal shook her head. "Shadow never does anything he does not want to… and he hates to lose."

The Chieftain left Tikal in the kitchen and opened the front door before delivering a final line.

"If Kain does not win tomorrow, every Chao that calls the Altar their home… will die." The door shut swiftly behind him, the impact of his words taking time to reach Tikal's core.

"The… Chao… will die?" her breath shortened, and her knees buckled. She sat on the floor, eyes wide and mouth open. She knew every single Chao at that Altar… she'd given them names, played with them, laughed with them…

And then there was _him_… if he and her father crossed paths, her father would surely die. Her friends, _and _her family, gone at once.

Tikal hung her head as she made her decision. Shadow could not be allowed to win.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey, to all my readers! I'm still alive, and here's a new chapter as proof! Been on the ocean awhile, no interwebs, but caught a break and here I am! I'll try to upload another before I leave dry land in two days.

Scyphi seems to think he's got an idea of where this is heading... I'm almost positive he's nowhere close. The Mobius arm of this story is drawing to a climax, stay tuned for more!


	24. The Fight

Recommended listening: Mirai Nikki OST, Vol. 5, Track 1 (Change Your Future) by Tatsuya Kato.

* * *

It was a foggy morning, and the sun still lingered beneath the horizon. Maria made her way back to the hut where she and Shadow lived with the Prototype. Their temporary housing didn't have any of the niceties of the stone houses along the edge of the valley, like water or steam for heat. Instead, Maria often bathed at the houses of one of the villagers, who were usually very understanding.

Today had been different though. Several homes that she'd considered herself on good terms with had turned her away, repeating the same word over and over. Eventually, Maria had gone to Uden, Tikal's teacher, to ask for permission to use his bathroom. When she asked him about the word, he replied that they were apologizing for not being able to help.

If she had to guess, Maria would assume that the Echidnas didn't want to invite any trouble into their homes by showing leniency to Shadow or his group. They were scared, terrified even, of their leader, the Chieftain. According to Uden, it had been this way since the Chieftain had begun to assimilate the other Echidna clans. Any resistance to his crusade was met with severe punishment, and in some cases death.

The cool morning air swept around Maria, giving her chills from her head to her toes. It was still dark, but something felt wrong. Out of place. She stood still, peering through the fog and listening hard. The faint sound of a group of footsteps drew her attention to the back corner of the village, furthest from the gate. She wandered in that general direction, careful not to get too close to whomever the steps belonged to.

Soon, Maria found herself at the bottom of the steep sloping hill. Beyond it, a cliff face served as the boundary of the Echidna's Village. She was able to make out several figures moving up the slope, rising above the fog. One in particular caught her eye, since he walked with a slight limp and a walking stick.

_That's Tikal's father… _she realized. _What's he doing out here?_

Just as the thought entered her mind, the group of Echidnas began to vanish one after another into the rock face. Maria blinked and peered upward, sure her eyes were deceiving her.

_There must be an opening in the cliff, too small to see from here. Where in the world could they be going?_

* * *

The swiftness with which the Village prepared for the Challenge Match was astounding, to say the least. In less than a day, an ornate handcrafted wooden stage had been built from trees in the center of the village, along with close stands for prime seats and an open area around the stage for those who wished to stand. In addition, the valley orientation of the Echidna main city allowed homeowners to monopolize their lawns for spectator seats.

The crowd had begun to gather at the scene as soon as the sun came up, even though the match was not set to begin until midday. As the day continued, hundreds of Echidna poured into the village from the outside. Some were residents, but an astounding number came from outside the city as well. The entirety of the Echidna nation was gathering to witness this singular event.

Shadow stayed away from the crowds as much as he could. He didn't like the attention he was inevitably drawing towards himself, both positive and negative. Some villagers stared him down cruelly, unforgiving of his rash and rude challenge, but too scared of him to say so directly. A majority, though, looked at him gently, with polite nods and friendly gestures, hopeful that he might be able to change… something.

It had taken him all night, but he'd mastered the ability to control his Chaos power using the Mobius ring. Shadow would need it if he was going to be in a fight. He didn't trust himself not to use his power to heal himself by accident, since he usually did it without thinking anyways. He only had one ring, but it proved more than enough to do the job. He kept it snugly fastened over his right glove, always minding it, to ensure it wasn't damaged.

"You look nervous," Maria commented. The two were sitting at the dining table inside their hut once again, waiting for the Challenge Match to start. Shadow was fiddling with his gloves, his ring, his fur… anything he could get his hands on.

"Anxious," Shadow corrected. "I feel like something big is about to happen. I'm on edge, like I could be ambushed at any moment."

"I didn't know you were such a worry wart," Maria giggled.

"I'm not. It's not the challenge that has me concerned. It's… something else." Shadow was putting puzzle pieces together in his head, connecting the dots of the events over the last few weeks. "Tikal's been lying to us about something."

"What?" Maria asked, momentarily stunned. "What are you talking about? She told us the truth about her father…"

"Yes…" Shadow acknowledged. "But she's hiding something else from us. And I think I'm starting to understand what it is. I've been feeling an incredible… attraction the last few days, ever since returning to the village. It keeps drawing me, but I haven't been able to figure out why. But, when I think about how and why the Professor created me, it begins to make sense."

"Are you talking about your powers?"

"Exactly. Professor Gerald created me to generate, channel, and use Chaos energy. If you think about it that way, the only thing that could be drawing my attention like this is something related to Chaos energy. And since I don't feel any significant attraction to the Rings in the village, it can only mean that the Chaos energy source drawing my attention is massive in scale."

"Wait…" Maria started following his logic. "You think it might be the energy source Grandfather was talking about?"

"It's more than just that. Whenever I brought up the subject with Tikal, both at the Lab and here in the village, she changed the subject and acted defensively. The only other topic that she clams up on whenever we ask her about it is the Master Emerald."

"But Tikal said she didn't know anything about the Master Emerald, or any kind of power source!"

Shadow stayed silent, allowing Maria to come to her own conclusion. Her face became drawn as she realized his point.

"You think this is what she was hiding."

"…Yes."

"Why?" Maria shook her head. "Why would she do that?"

"So far, Tikal's lied to us about three things," Shadow held up his fingers to count. "The Master Emerald, the power source that can take us home… and her father. If the first two are connected, the last one might be connected as well."

"Her father has been looking for a way to increase his territory, by taking over the other Echidna Clans!" Maria followed. "He wants the Master Emerald for himself!"

"And wants me as his subordinate," Shadow reminded. "All for the purpose of having more power."

"So, what do we do?"

"If I win this Challenge, it'll throw a wrench in his plans. He won't have any more control over the Echidnas, and can't order them to seize the Master Emerald. I think this is the best path to take, and Tikal seems to think so, too. There's only one problem…"

"Which is…?" Maria asked.

"Why did Tikal lie about the Master Emerald? From everything she's told us, it's just a power source. I could see not wanting her father to gain more power, but why hide that information from us? This 'power source' may be more dangerous than we've been led to believe. Moving or using the Master Emerald must either have serious consequences or must make Tikal very uncomfortable, morally and ethically."

"Which do you think it is?"

"It doesn't matter at this point. All we have to do right now is stop the Chieftain from winning this tournament. Any questions we have for Tikal can wait until afterward. Nothing should happen, as long as we win."

"As long as _you_ win, you mean," Maria corrected.

* * *

Noon arrived quickly, and as Shadow made his way from their hut to the stage a sea of spectators stepped back to clear a path for him. Moments before, the crowd had been cheering uncontrollably for the entrance of Kane to the stage. He'd made a point to egg the crowd on, raising the hype. He flexed and threw a few shadow punches in a demonstration of power.

When Shadow appeared, however, the crowd was dead silent. Not a word was spoken or whispered as he made his way to the stage with Maria in tow. The silence was appreciated, but it unnerved him for some reason. When he reached the stage, Uden was waiting for him at the base to talk him through the rules.

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Shadow asked off the bat.

"Respect. For you, and for your challenge." Uden pointed out. "Kane enjoys the show, the glamour. The crowd responded in kind. You are more reserved, and the Echidna will respect that silence with silence in kind."

Shadow once again found himself appreciating the nuances of the Echidna culture. Pride, respect, honor, family, loyalty… these were understandable traits to hold above others, at least in his mind. The Echidnas took what was most important in life and put it on a pedestal, far above anything else, as if to single them out so there was no mistake to be made about the standard everyone was to be held to.

"The fight will continue until one of you is unconscious, or forfeits," Uden explained. "No matter what happens, the fight will continue. That is the most important rule, since this match will decide the fate of the leadership of our people. While this match is in progress, the position of Chieftain is in limbo, and there is no ruler. This must be resolved as quickly as possible."

"I understand," Shadow nodded. "Anything else?"

"You're not allowed to use your abilities, obviously. Were you able to find a way around it?"

"It took me all night, but I managed to figure this Mobius Ring out." Shadow held up the ring, then re-strapped it to his glove. "It's almost automatic now. As long as nothing severely affects my concentration, I'll be all right. This should prevent me from healing myself without thinking."

"Lastly, whatever the Judge decides is law," Uden iterated. "This goes along with the first rule. Since there is no time to be wasted in this match, the Judge's decisions cannot be contested or argued against. This in particular is why picking a Judge can be difficult."

"Because if the Judge favors one side over the other, they can sway their rulings?"

"Exactly," Uden affirmed.

"Who's the Judge for this match, then?" Shadow asked.

"Tikal…" Uden spoke after a moment.

"Well then, we don't have anything to worry about, right?" Maria jumped in. "Tikal's on our side."

Shadow remained silent. The Chieftain was the one who chose Tikal. Was it because he trusted her make a fair decision? Highly doubtful. What was going on…?

* * *

Shadow and Kane faced off from opposite sides of the stage. Kane's deep red fur and white tribal markings contrasted with Shadow's jet black fur and blood red stripes. From a side stand overlooking the match, Tikal stood and addressed Shadow.

"Today's challenge will be between the Defender and representative of the current Chieftain, Kane the Echidna, and the Challenger and newly inducted member of the Echidna Clan, Shadow the Hedgehog. The decision will be made through one on one combat. The Challenger is not allowed to use his exceptional powers during the match. For the duration of the match, the Judge will remain on this stand. Are both parties aware or the rules?"

Both Shadow nodded once to show his preparedness. Shadow noted that Tikal would not make eye contact with him.

Tikal repeated her speech in her native tongue, this time addressing Kane. He also nodded once in acknowledgement of the rules. He flexed his muscles again, smiling at Shadow smugly.

"Shadow," Maria called out from below the stage. "Be careful, okay?"

"I don't like that smile on his face," he responded. "Keep an eye on him for me."

"Got it!" Maria affirmed energetically.

Both contenders approached the center of the stage, eying each other closely. Kane raised both of his spike adorned fists close to his face, taking a defensive stance while he sized up his opponent. Shadow made no indication as to what he was going to do next, choosing a neutral stance with his hands down at his sides.

"Begin!" Tikal's voice sang out, signaling the beginning of the match. The crowd let their voices escalate to a loud roar, cheering on the two fighters. To the two in the ring, though, the crowd might as well have not even existed. Shadow was wary. For all his bravado and egotistic riling of the crowd, Kane was taking an extremely experienced approach to the current battle.

Slowly, the two took ginger steps toward and around each other, in a gradually decreasing spiral. Mere feet from each other, Kane took the initiative in executing the first attack with a quick right jab. Shadow deftly leaned to his left, causing the jab to miss completely. That one attack spoke volumes for the contestants.

_He's fast, _Shadow concluded, _but I'm faster. The force behind his punch is incredible; even with such a fast and relatively weak attack, I'd take some serious damage if I got hit by it. I may be faster, but Kane is definitely stronger than I am, not to mention more experienced at fighting. I have more practical knowledge, but It's for situations I've never actually experienced myself. This will be a tricky fight at best… or a disaster at worst._

After a few more steps around each other, Kane launched two more fast punches, both of which were easily maneuvered around by Shadow. With his speed, Shadow managed to connect two light jabs to Kane's arms, then a direct connect to Kane's left hip with a right kick. Unfortunately, because of the speed needed to pull off the hits, Shadow was unable to place any kind of power behind them. Kane was solid; Shadow could tell his fast attacks weren't doing any damage at all.

From the sidelines, Maria and Uden watched as the two fighters sparred. To her unexperienced eyes, Maria thought Shadow must be winning, since he'd landed more hits. Uden's sharp gaze caught the whole thing, and he informed her step by step of the current situation.

"Shadow has good instincts, but Kane is too strong for him. If Shadow wants to do any damage, he will need to land a heavier attack. Kane is not going to just sit back and let that happen. Your friend needs a plan, or he is going to wear himself out."

Maria was concerned about the fight, but she was more concerned about Tikal. What Shadow said earlier made it sound like the Chieftain had good reason to elect her as the Judge… but Tikal had given her support to Shadow for the Challenge, right? It didn't make any sense. Plus, Shadow had reasoned that she was probably still lying to them.

She glanced upward to Tikal, standing on the Judge's box. Her eyes were glazed over; though she was observing the match, her thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Maria was the only one who noticed. Everyone else's eyes were firmly fixed on the monumental and historic hand to hand battle occurring right in front of their eyes.

For several minutes the fight continued, with Shadow landing light hits occasionally and Kane hitting nothing but air. Despite the hits he received, just as Uden predicted, Kane wasn't tiring at all. However, after the fight had been going for about fifteen minutes Shadows movements started becoming sluggish, to the point where even Maria noticed.

"Kane's punches are getting closer and closer to hitting Shadow!" she exclaimed frantically.

"Shadow is fast, but he is not an experienced fighter," Uden agreed. "He's a thinker, and the continued physical demand is starting to take a toll. It will not be long before Kane delivers a decisive blow, and ends the match, I am afraid."

Kane entered into an assault on Shadow, throwing punches left and right, each punch coming closer and closer to hitting it's mark. Shadow's shoulders were beginning to sag, and his breathing looked heavy.

The Echidna stepped forward to deliver another quick right jab, to which Shadow retreated. In his step backwards, Shadow misstepped, making a quick, minuscule stumble. Kane instantly read the situation and reared back for a powerful blow.

"_Shadow!_" Maria cried out. Kane's punch launched at an incredible speed, careening straight for Shadow's temple…

In that exact moment, Shadow moved so fast he almost disappeared completely. Using the momentum from Kane's punch against him, he grabbed the warrior's arm and flipped the echidna over his head, slamming him on the ground. He hit the ground with so much force, Kane bounced right back up, almost to a standing position. Shadow used the time afforded to him by the stun of his counterattack to deliver a flurry of hooks, kicks, and haymakers one after the other, each powerful enough to do moderate damage and throw Kane off guard from the next attack.

"He tricked Kane!" Uden shouted. "Shadow has been moving at the same speed since the beginning of the match, so we thought he was moving at his fastest… we could not have been more wrong! He slowed down on purpose to goad Kane into throwing a slower, more powerful, and more predictable punch that he could use against him!"

"He didn't just fool Kane," Maria breathed a sigh of relief. "He fooled everyone here. I really thought he was going to go down."

Shadow stopped his onslaught and took several steps backward, distancing himself from Kane. Kane was battered and bruised, and in pretty bad shape, but he still had that smile plastered onto his face. The hedgehog tensed, cautious of his enemy. Something was up.

There was a spark, like a quick flash of light from behind Kane. The bruises, cuts, and injuries from Shadow's attack all began to rapidly disappear until Kane stood before him, completely revitalized and restored. Maria, Uden, and Shadow's eyes all snapped wide open. The crowd went silent. They'd seen it, too.

"Did he just…?!" Maria gasped.

"He must have used a Ring!" Uden realized. "All Tikal has to do is call him on it, and this match is over!"

Three pairs of eyes turned to face Tikal, standing in the Judge's stand. Three eyes were met with an icy glare from an unforgiving arbiter. Tikal stood silent, not acknowledging their stares, nor the obvious violation of the rules handed down by Kane. She was ignoring it, like it had never happened. Maria couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Uden and Shadow both grimaced separately.

"This is why she was made the Judge," Uden solemnly droned. "Her father is forcing her to overlook Kane's actions so he will win the duel."

"But why?!" Maria held back tears of confusion. "Why would she do something like that?"

Shadow and Tikal made eye contact. He could read her face, behind her icy exterior. It was one of pain, and struggle. She was definitely doing this against her will, but Shadow had no idea why. One thing was for sure: the Judges decisions were absolute. No amount of complaint was going to change that, either.

_WHAM!_

A powerful blow to the back of Shadow's head sent him rolling across the stage, towards the edge of the mat. Kane laughed deeply, and spoke briefly in his native tongue.

"He says you should pay more attention to the fight than the Judge," Uden translated. "And he's right. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"Shadow, you need to stop this fight!" Maria begged. "If Tikal's judging in Kane's favor, this is a pointless battle! You can't even heal yourself-"

"We can't do that," Shadow muttered, cutting her off as he stood. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing at the stinging pain. "Don't you remember what I said would happen? I'm not going to lose this fight. I'm not going to take orders. And I'm definitely not going to lower myself to the level of this coward to do it!"

Leaping back into the fray, Kane and Shadow became a whirlwind of fierce blows and unfathomable speed. Shadow's hidden speed advantage now gone, he made up for it with increased ferocity from how utterly pissed he was. Kane accepted his determination and responded in kind, connecting with several devastating hits of his own. Before long, both were back in their own corners, tired and worn.

With a quick flash, though, Kane stood straight again, ready to fight. Shadow grimaced again, his displeasure showing on his face. How long was this going to go on?

A sudden cry from the stands caught the attention of the contenders. A young child, not yet wearing tribal markings, was screaming something at the top of his lungs. The Echidna standing next to him, presumably his mother, tried to quiet him, but he broke free and ran up to the top of one of the stands overlooking the fight, repeating his cry over and over.

Kane's face contorted in anger, and his fists clenched. He opened his mouth to respond to the child when another voice, older this time, joined in with the young boy, chanting the line again and again. Several more agreed. Before long, the entire crowd was yelling, jeering, and obviously angry.

"What's going on?" Maria asked Uden discreetly.

"They're calling him a coward," Shadow answered for him. "A coward, a liar, and a cheat. There's not much else they _could_ be saying in this situation."

"He's right," Uden spoke. "The Echidna are a strong people, and with that strength comes a great pride. By deliberately cheating, Kane is spitting on that pride, and discarding it like trash. What probably makes it worse is that that boy… is Kane's own son." He chuckled to himself. "Children say the craziest things, do they not?"

Kane made no attempts to hide his fury as he faced off with Shadow once more. This time, Shadow was ready. His opponent was compromised, his anger giving away his intentions. Shadow read him like a book, avoiding attacks and delivering his own with unmatched precision. It wasn't long before Kane was wobbling on his feet again. He reached behind him to grab another Ring…

Shadow leapt forward, intent on delivering a finishing blow before Kane could heal himself. In the last instant, Kane disappeared much like Shadow had at the beginning of the match, sidestepping to the right and delivering a crushing haymaker to Shadow's temple. The force of the punch drove Shadow straight through the wooden stage, leaving only an empty hole in the matting where he stood moments before. The crowd fell silent as the dust that rose from the damage cleared.

A smirk crossed the face of Kane as nothing stirred below him. He casually spit into the pit, then walked towards the judges stand to receive the final verdict of the Judge, who's expression looked more pained than ever before. Maria and Uden stood shocked, in utter disbelief, unable to even speak a word. The spectators, as well, could find no words to say; all were disappointed by Kane's actions… but who could say a word against him now, since he was the only one standing? As the Chieftain's proxy, he could order whatever he wanted. Even a village member's head, if he so chose.

"Sha-dow! Sha-dow!" A small cry came from the top of the stands. Kane's son, the first to speak out about his father's underhandedness, was now shamelessly cheering on the name of his opponent. Kane, halfway to the Judge's box, stopped dead in his tracks.

"_Sha-dow! Sha-dow! Sha-dow!_" Just as before, more voices joined into the chorus, shouting the name of the fallen contestant. Kane didn't shout, or clench his fists, or act in anger like he did before. He just stood there, and listened. The cheers of his own people, cheers which should have been for him. The fact that they weren't, even after having defeated his opponent, meant that something was wrong. _He_ was wrong. But Kane had come to far to just let it go now. He continued across the stage until he was standing underneath Tikal on the far side.

"_SHA-DOW! SHA-DOW! SHA-DOW!"_

Tikal, still standing, raised her right hand and pointed towards Kane and spoke in her native tongue. All the while, the crowd continued to cry out for Shadow, enraged by the unfair and unsportsmanlike match. After finishing speaking, she continued speaking so Maria could understand.

"The Challenger, Shadow, has fallen. The match-"

"_Is nowhere close to being over!_" Shadow's voice rang out clearly above Tikal and the crowd of onlookers. Kane slowly turned to see Shadow, beaten and bleeding, standing tall next to the hole in the stage. He took a step forward and raised his fists, in a stance very similar to what Kane had been using most of the match. "Come on. Let's see how many Rings you've got left, dread-head."

Maria found her heart leaping up into her throat for the third time during the match. She didn't know if she could take much more of this. As Kane matched Shadow's stance, preparing to square off again, Maria pushed through the crowds, leaving Uden's side. There only one person who could stop this.

Tikal.

* * *

Author's Note: This story has become increasingly more difficult to write. Not because I don't know what I want to do with it, but because I keep getting distracted by other things. Sorry, guys; I'll try to do better, I promise.


	25. The Judge

Recommended listening: "Wales" by Marco Beltrami from the "World War Z" Soundtrack.

* * *

Maria stood at the base of the Judge's stand, on the side of the challenge ring. A rickety ladder was propped up on the side for entry and exit, with an armed guard at it's base. This match would decide the fate of the Echidna nation; the possibility for the judge to be targeted for an attack was definitely possible. At this point, though, the guard was a hindrance to Maria, not help.

The crowd cheered in excitement as the battle on-stage waged on. Everyone was so intent on watching the match that not even Uden had noticed Maria slipping off.

She needed a distraction. A big one. One that would be big enough to turn the heads of every guard in the area, but not cause any injuries or trouble. And Maria knew just what could do it…

* * *

Dodge, attack, dodge, dodge, attack. Shadow found that he and his opponent had begun to fall into a rhythm, a downside for both of them. It risked his moves being read and anticipated, but it meant the same for Kane. As uncomfortable as he was with the progression, it was difficult to break away from. Breaking free of the norm would expend energy, and Shadow had to conserve as much of it as he could. Though his body was tiring, his mind was still firing on all pistons.

The opposite could be said for Kane. His body was in near perfect condition, but the continual plotting, tracking, attention to detail, and concentration required to fight was taking a toll on his mental fortitude. He was making mistakes, albeit small ones. Sooner or later he'd make a big one, and Shadow was going to be ready for him.

A sudden, massive roar shook the ground and reverberated in the air, catching both fighters off guard. It was a long, drawn out howl… the magnitude of the sound instantly informed Shadow of the source. From the stage, the top of the Prototype's long neck could be seen stretching upwards near their hut. It's mouth was agape, and the bellow was definitely coming from him.

The entire crowd turned to observe the sight, magnificent and sobering, in all it's glory. A small scrabble could be seen as a troupe of guards made towards the Prototype, to see what could be causing the problem.

The movement of the guards caused Shadow and Kane remembered themselves, and their eyes met. No matter what was going on outside the ring, they needed to stay focused on each other first. They resumed their match, and before long, the crowd's attention reverted back to the showdown.

* * *

Atop the Judge's booth, Tikal had been frozen in fear. That howl… she'd thought… but that didn't matter. Tikal had thought wrong. With a deep sigh, she sank to her knees with her hands on the ground. She was hyperventilating, and her heart was pounding beneath her chest.

"Thank goodness… for a second, I thought that was…" she stopped short of saying the name, as if fearful that even saying it might bring it into existence.

"Though that was what?" Maria asked, as she bent over next to her.

"_AAAUGH!_" Tikal yelped in surprise, jumping to a corner of the box, scared witless by the blonde's materialization. "Maria?! What are you _doing_ up here?! What happened to the gua-"

Tikal stopped talking. Maria was standing in front of her with a completely innocent expression on her face, her toes pointed inward, hands behind her back, and looking off into the distance. It was incredible obvious.

"_You_ did that, didn't you?" Tikal accused.

"No!" Maria denied vehemently.

Tikal's accusatory stare burrowed into Maria, as if daring her to deny it again.

"I mean, not really…"

"What does 'not really' mean?!" Tikal demanded.

"…okay, yes… but-" Maria admitted, and started to argue.

_Thonk!_ Tikal chopped Maria on her forehead with her hand, hard enough to make a bump, but light enough not to cause any real damage.

"Ow!"

"Stop causing trouble for people!" She scolded.

"I'm sorry!" Maria quickly apologized. She lifted both her hands and clasped them around Tikal's hand, still resting on Maria's forehead. "But it's good to see you haven't really changed at all… I was really worried you were scared, or hurt."

The crowd roared again for the battle down below.

In that instant, Tikal suddenly remembered why Maria would want to do something like that in the first place. In the commotion with the Prototype and Maria's sudden appearance, she'd completely forgotten what she'd been worried about, about judging the match, and that the girl in front of her… wasn't someone she could talk to freely.

"It is none of your business," Tikal's face glazed over again. "I know you are not happy about any of this, but things are going the way they must. If you are done speaking, I must ask you to lea-"

_Thonk!_ Maria swiftly chopped Tikal on the forehead, causing her to clutch at her own head.

"Ow! Wh-"

"_Stop causing trouble for people!_" Maria bent down and looked Tikal straight in the face as she said it. Tikal looked into Maria's eyes. They were frustrated and angry, furrowed to a point. But behind the glare was a softness, full of care and worry. It reminded her of her Mother…

Tears welled up in Tikal's eyes, and she clenched her teeth to keep from sobbing out loud.

"I… I… am…" she started to reply, only to get caught in Maria's eyes again. _What am I doing…? Say it… say it! I am only doing what I have to do! I am doing this because I must! I have an obligation! _

"It's easier to be yourself, you know?" Maria interrupted. It was Tikal's turn to furrow her brow. What was she talking about? "You told me that Shadow was the strongest person you knew, and that he inspired you to take a stand for what was right. You're the village's top medical officer, linguist, and the daughter of the leader. You were born here, and you love the village and the people in it… and yet, those are the people you're causing the most trouble for right now. It must be hard on you."

_What do you know? _Tikal yelled in her head. _Of course it is hard to do this! I do not want to! I do not! It is so unfair and insane that I want to scream at the top of my lungs!_

"You were right about me not being happy," Maria continued. "But it's not because you're taking the opposite side. It's because when something bad happened to you, you decided to shoulder it yourself instead of talking to me. Tikal… you can tell me anything. I won't hate you. I won't abandon you. I won't hurt you unless you really need it..."

_I cannot tell you. I want to, but I cannot. It has nothing to do with you. It is not something you could understand. It is not something anyone could understand. Why? Why are you being like this? You have no reason to want to get yourself involv-_

"…because you're my friend," Maria finished.

Tikal threw her arms around Maria, burying her face in her chest, her legs going limp and leaning on Maria's body.

"_I am… sorry!_" Tikal wailed, her voice muffled by Maria's dress. Tikal's back heaved as she sobbed, her tears overflowing and soaking into the dress' fabric. Maria gingerly wrapped her hands around Tikal's head, patting and massaging her hair gently.

"It's all right… it's all right…" Maria rocked Tikal, soothing her with her voice and supporting both their weights. "See? Leaning on me isn't so bad, is it?"

Even amidst her crying, Tikal managed a chuckle. _No… it is not that bad at all._ She took a deep breath and pulled her head away from Maria. Tears were still falling down her face, but she collected herself enough to speak clearly.

"It is the Chao," she announced. "The race that has lived in harmony with the Master Emerald for eons. The Emeralds rightfully belong to them, but my father wants them for himself."

"Right," Maria nodded. "I remember you mentioning them before."

"They are still alive. They always have been. I found them by accident when I was exploring as a young girl, and told my father about them. He has been eyeing the Emeralds ever since. He told me that if I do not allow Kane to win this match, he would take a group of his loyal soldiers to the Master Emerald… and slaughter the Chao."

Maria took a moment to absorb what Tikal told her. "Tikal… is this Master Emerald to the north of the village? Through a crevice in the cliff?"

"Wh… yes! Yes it is!" Tikal responded. "How did you know that?"

"Tikal!" Maria grabbed her shoulders. "Your father left the village this morning through that crevice!"

"He…" Tikal mumbled, disbelieving. "He what…?"

A loud roar from the crowd below filled in the silence. Tikal felt like she was floating outside of her body. Like nothing that was happening around her was real. Like she was watching someone else. The moment passed, and she snapped back to reality.

In the next second, Tikal was gone. Maria reached out to grab her, but Tikal had jumped from the top of the Judge's tower, rolled deftly on the ground, and was sprinting through the crowd towards the northern end of the village.

"_Tikal!_" Maria shouted after her. Her outburst drew the attention of several onlookers, and quite a few others had recognized Tikal as she ran though the village. More and more eyes turned towards the Judge's box. Towards Maria. Whispers and discourse started to spread through the crowd like wildfire. Eventually, even Shadow and Kane noticed.

With so many gazes on her, Maria suddenly felt out of place. _I shouldn't be here… maybe I should get down._

"Maria! Do not move!" Uden's voice rang out clearly. He climbed up the side of the competition ring as quickly as he could, announcing in a loud voice for everyone to hear. He spoke in his native language, addressing the crowd. Instantly, the whispers started up again, only louder this time. Every eye was now on Maria in the Judge's booth. Kane caught her eye, then spit on the ground outside the ring in disgust.

"Ummm… Uden? What did you tell everyone? They look very… concerned."

"One of the stipulations handed down by Tikal as a Judge was that the Judge would not leave the Judge's Box," Uden explained. "Yet, our judge has. Since you are the only person in the Judge's Box at the moment, it can mean only one thing… that _you _are now the Judge of the match."

"Eh…?"

* * *

Author's Note: Another Chapter graces this story with it's presence. This arc of the story can only end one way... I'm sure some of you have figured it out by now. Don't write down your suspicions, though. We don't want to spoil it for the clueless, right? Stay tuned for more twists than a Twizzler, and more intertwining branches than a Crepe Myrtle!


	26. The Final Result

Recommended listening: "Campione!" by Tatsuya Katou for the OST of the anime of the same name.

* * *

The tables had finally turned for the better. Kane and Shadow faced off, for the last time. With Maria now in the box, there was no chance of Kane pulling any dirty tricks. Even though she couldn't overwrite the previous Judge's decisions, all Shadow had to do now was knock Kane down one more time.

Just once.

The Echidnas were either on the edges of their seats or standing on their tip-toes, the anticipation of the final showdown sending shivers down their spines.

Maria kept a close eye on Kane. She wouldn't let him cheat anymore. The moment he did, the match would be over. Glancing over at Shadow, she murmured a quiet payer for his safety. Now that he had no choice but to fight, Kane would likely be even more dangerous.

_I hope you know what you're doing, Shadow…_

* * *

Kane lunged at Shadow, throwing his full power and fury into his blows. He'd been saving his reserves of energy, but without the Ring's help, those reserves would quickly begin to run out. It was do-or-die time. With his sudden burst in speed, agility, and aggression, Shadow found it extremely difficult to stay ahead of his opponent.

Continuing to drive forward, and careful not to leave openings, Kane forced Shadow further back. Without adequate time to monitor his surroundings, Shadow misstepped as his left foot nearly went straight through the broken area of the stage that he'd fallen through before.

_THUD!_

A thick, spiky glove solidly connected with Shadow's stomach, knocking the wind out him. Shadow's exhausted body instantly collapsed to it's hands and knees, gasping for air. Not about to let Shadow recover, Kane continued his assault, delivering a full-force punch to the back of Shadow's head.

"Shadow!" Maria cried out. Shadow was now laying face flat on the ground, unmoving. "Shadow, get up!"

Kane grabbed Shadow by a fistful of his spikes, holding him up from the head. Shadow was still conscious and his eyes were open, but they looked hazy and confused. Kane used his right hand to punch Shadow straight in the face, causing his body to dangle from his left hand like a doll. He laughed at the helplessness of his foe, swinging him in a circle for the entire crowd to see. The crowd remained silent. They would not acknowledge Kane's unsportsmanlike behavior.

The dejected Echidna shouted at the crowd showing off his new punching bag. Uden, who'd entered the Judge's booth alongside Maria, translated.

"You who decided to put your blind trust into this… rat… are nothing but fools. Our Chieftain has safeguarded this race longer than any other, and has unified us as a people! And you've returned his effort with betrayal. If one were to ask me… none of you are fit to bear the name 'Echidna'. Let this rat's death be a lesson to the rest of you. This is what becomes of those who would challenge the Chieftain's authority!"

Kane began to push Shadow in the face again and again. The red warrior continued, even as a puddle of green blood began forming at his own feet. The look on his face was one of a crazed beast, concerned with fighting and nothing else.

"Stop!" Maria cried, "Uden, stop him! Why isn't Shadow doing anything?!"

"Shadow is most likely punch-drunk," Uden answered. "He's been beaten so badly that he cannot think clearly. In a normal fight, it would be grounds to end the match. But this isn't an ordinary match. If Shadow is still conscious, he must fight."

"Isn't there anything we can do?!"

"Pray that he loses consciousness before Kane kills him."

* * *

Shadow's body, though limp after Kane's vicious punches, still showed signs of life. Shadow groaned, his eyes struggling to focus on the enemy in front of him. There were three… no… four Kanes in front of him. He had to stop them… had to beat them.

The rag of a body, still dangling from Kane's left hand, twitched, it's arm attempting to throw feeble punches to his left and right. The sight of his still living prey ticked Kane off.

"What are you trying to hit, rat? Not dead yet? Don't worry. You soon will be."

Kane grabbed one of Shadow's legs with his left hand, then switched his right hand from Shadow's spikes to one of his arms. He raised the hedgehog's body high above his head, once again showing him off to the crowd. The crowd collectively gasped, and began whispering amongst themselves.

"That move! He intends to break Shadow's spine!" Uden growled. The elder then raised his voice and yelled at Kane in his native tongue. "Stop this madness, Kane! Such drastic measures are unnecessary!"

"You are wrong, old man," Kane answered calmly. "This is exactly the kind of measure that needs to be taken. To defy the current structure of our society is crime, and one that should be quickly dealt with. Allowing this rat to live will only allow him to try again. The winner is the one who decides what is right, and this is my decision to make."

"Kane! How dare y-"

"Say what you will, but this fight will end along with Shadow's life, and the same will happen to anyone who stands against our Chieftain. If you value your life, and the life of that creature beside you, you'd best take that monstrosity at the village's edge and leave. I, for one, will show you no quarter."

"Geh…" Uden cringed. This was bad. The crowd was starting to waver, and some had already begun leaving, intent on not falling under the wrath of the Chieftain. Slowly a line of people began to form of those scared for their lives.

"_Coward!_" Maria shouted at the top of her lungs. The Echidnas who had begun to walk away stopped in their tracks, turning their heads in confusion. "The only thing you're fighting for is more power! Ruling through fear and intimidation isn't being a leader, it's being a dictator! Shadow isn't fighting for himself… he isn't fighting for me… he isn't fighting for all of you either. He's fighting because someone he calls his friend is in trouble! Compared to him, you're nothing but a coward. And Shadow doesn't lose to cowards!"

The entire crowd was silent. The Echidnas were exchanging startled glances amongst themselves, looking from Maria to Uden to Kane, then back to Maria.

"Maria…" Uden's eyes were wide open in surprise. "When did you…?"

"What?" Maria asked, confused. Everyone was staring at her. It was pretty creepy, and Maria couldn't help but feel like she'd done something wrong. "Did I do something?"

"You…" Kane's voice rang out in the silence. "Just when did you learn to speak our language?"

_What? What is he… _The significance of what he'd just said finally hit her brain. She looked at Uden, then at Kane. Uden hadn't been translating. _Wait… did I just understand him?!_

"Stay silent if you wish. It matters not. This match is over anyways." Kane heaved Shadow up and over his shoulders, letting gravity drag his heavy body downward. Kane lifted his knee, lining it up with the center of Shadow's back, ready to deliver a blow that would surely fracture his spine.

_Crunch._

A sickening sound of bone breaking resounded, causing everyone listening to cringe.

"_Shadow!_" Maria screamed. "_Shadow! Shadow! SHADOW!_"

"Shut up already!" Shadow's voice rang out. "I can hear you just fine! Don't worry… I don't lose to cowards, right?"

Maria gasped. The crowd looked on, eyes wide. Shadow was suspended in the air, his right elbow and right knee in a vice around Kane's outstretched leg. Kane hadn't moved, his brain still in apparent shock that Shadow had managed to block his knee. Then, the pain hit.

Kane fell to the ground, screaming in pain, dropping Shadow to the ground as well. The hedgehog's knee-elbow grip had been applied with enough force to break Kane's femur into three pieces. His upper leg bone now broken in two places, Kane could do nothing but try and bear with the excruciating pain.

"How?! How did he…?"

Shadow stood up from where he'd fallen, slowly walking over to where Kane lay, howling. He stood at Kane's head, looking down at him with unforgiving eyes. The Echidna clenched his teeth and looked up, meeting Shadow's accusatory stare.

"Maria…" Shadow raised his eyes to his partner in crime. "Tell him to give up. He can't fight anymore."

"Me? I can't…" she glanced over at Uden, who was still looking at her with the same shocked look he'd had before. _Am I still doing it? Well, then. _Maria took a deep breath and spoke out loud "Kane! You can no longer fight in that condition! Shadow asks for you to resign from the fight!"

"I would rather die!" Kane retorted. Once again, Maria couldn't believe that she could understand him.

"Shadow…" Maria started.

"Don't worry, Maria," Shadow looked back down at his opponent. "I have a feeling I know what he said." He knelt down next to the Echidna and brought his face close to his own. "I'll leave you with one piece of advice, then. The easiest way to beat someone unconscious…"

_THWACK._

"… is to hit them when they least expect it."

* * *

"Shadow!" Maria hugged Shadow at the base of the Judge's tower. Shadow could barely hear her over the roar of the crowd, who'd gone completely nuts upon Kane's defeat. The guards immediately took action, doing their best to keep the crowd from trampling the new Chieftain or each other. Uden, still in the Judges box, looked down on the two of them with a mix of confusion and relief.

"I'm all right now that I can heal myself without worrying about a fight, but I'm more surprised at _you_." Shadow spoke. "But we don't have time to talk about that right now. Where did Tikal go?"

"To the northern end of the village. There's a crevice in the cliff face that leads to the Master Emerald, just like you said. The Chieftain went there this morning, and Tikal probably went to try and stop him."

"So he pulled a fast one…" Shadow comprehended. "And Tikal didn't see it coming. All right; I need to go after her. Let's go." He scooped Maria up into his arms, and gathered his Chaos power beneath his feet. A small explosion erupted underneath Shadow's soles, propelling both of them through the air. The Echidna below looked up in awe at the two visitors soaring through the air, cheering for their new leader.

"It's a little strange isn't it? For a hedgehog to be the leader of the Echidna clan?" Maria poked fun at Shadow.

"Try not to remind me. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with this like it is. All the more reason to make sure Tikal is okay."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"…" Shadow looked at Maria blankly. "You didn't expect me to _stay_ the Chieftain, did you? I'm turning it over to Tikal the moment we get a chance. The three of us still need to go home you know."

"Aw, you're no fun."

* * *

Shadow landed a few dozen feet from their hut, where the Prototype lay, apparently completely unconcerned by the activity of the crowds in the village or the sudden arrival of Maria and Shadow.

"We're back," Shadow spoke to the lizard as he and Maria walked up.

It lifted it's head toward them and growled softly. A deep voice welled up inside Maria's head, as if it was coming from every direction. "_I knew you'd win. Even without my 'distraction'._"

Maria came to a dead stop. Did he just…?

"Maria?" Shadow noticed Maria stopped after a few steps, and turned around. "What's wrong?"

"_Is something wrong with the little one?_" the voice spoke again. "_She's paler than normal_."

"I… I can…"

"You can… you can what?" Shadow asked, brows furrowed.

"I can understand him… I can understand the Prototype…"

* * *

Author's Note: Well, now... what does this mean? Will our heroes make it in time to stop the Chieftain? Or is something much worse in store? Stay tuned!


End file.
